I can't remember a labor day weekend over the past decade where I wasn't on the Oregon Coast. The late summer is one of the best seasons there for several reasons. For one, the coastal inversion has passed, meaning that hot air from the inland valley has not socked in the beach with clouds right on the shoreline, and the Dungeness crabs are fattening as they grow into new shells. You can see why I spend most labor day weekends there. But this year, we had the opportunity to rent our place out while we stayed in town...with seemingly nothing to do, until my brother the tireless gourmand suggested canning.

An idea that started out as making a few jars of pickles while we watched the Oregon Ducks' football game turned into a full-blown, two-day canning extravaganza. Here is a list of items we canned in both pint and quart jars that weekend:

Dill pickles, bread and butter pickle chips, pickle relish, apple-ginger sauce, beets, green beans, preserved lemons, blackberry jam, and pickled garlic.

Our pantry is now stocked for the winter, and I can't wait to open the first jar and savor the goodness.

There really is nothing complicated about good canning. Here are my top five canning tips:

1) Get good, tried-and-true recipes and watch your conversions. Our only mistake the whole weekend was adding too much water, even though the recipe asked for it, to a jam recipe. Yes, we gleaneded it from the internet and didn't really test it first. Lesson learned for sure, but now we can use the jam as excellent pancake syrup.

2) Get large pots and an extra propane burner. We used an extra burner and a big pot culled from an outdoor deep-fryer and used it for both sterilizing and finishing. It saved tons of time and allowed us to do a larger variety of items.

3) Have the right tools on-hand. A candy thermometer, a kitchen timer, a canning funnel, at least 3 pair of sturdy tongs, plenty of clean kitchen towels, cutting boards, sharp knives, at least 2 sets of measuring cups and spoons, kitchen shears, and of course proper jars and lids. Remember that jars can be re-used but the lids can't....the seal will not hold the 2nd time around and you'll have food safety issues.

4) Make a plan so you can multi-task. A watched pot never boils, so don't watch it. You can always be doing something after you set the timer for your pickles, like trimming the beans or quartering the lemons or chopping the garlic.

5) Cold means crisp, especially with dill pickles. We've found that icing down the cucumbers in a large, clean cooler is a great way to insure crispness later on when the jars are opened. There's nothing worse than a soggy or limp dill pickle.

Paul's preserved lemons:

Trim stem end of lemons and cut the lemons into 1/8's. With a paring knife, remove the pulp of the lemon so only the rind remains. Place the rind in a sterilized jar and the pulp in a strainer inside of a bowl to reatin the juice. Repeat until your jar is 1/4 full, then add 2 tbl kosher salt or canning salt. Repeat process until jar is full. Squeeze juice from pulp, straining out seeds, and add to rinds in jar. Push down rinds for a snug fit and so that the juice covers the rinds. Seal jar and sterilize in boiling water for 10 minutes. Shelve the lemons for at least 3 weeks.

Preserved lemons can be used for Moroccan stews, pastas, cous cous, or as a condiment alongside olives or pickles. If the flavor is too intense or salty, try soaking them in simple syrup for an hour before service. ENJOY!