In my increasing desire to eat sustainably and locally year round, I’ve decided to learn how to preserve the food that I buy at my local farmers’ market: I’m going to teach myself how to can food, but having never done this before, I knew I needed help. First, I hit my local, independent bookseller and picked up a “how to” book. Then the jars, and this week, I stopped by McGuckin’s for the final purchase of “stuff”; today I bought peaches for my first attempt at this little epic: peach jam. When I was growing up in rural northern NY state, “run downstairs to the basement and grab me a jar of [X]” was a common statement heard in my grandmother’s house to whoever happened to be in the kitchen at the time. Homemade pickles and jams were a staple of my childhood. She’s a good bit older now, and she stopped canning some years ago, so she’s thrilled that I’m reclaiming a bit of my “heritage.” I sat down with the book today and realized that this is going to be a full day project, or close to it. It should be an interesting day.