This post is sponsored by the makers of Ball® home canning products. *

This summer was a whirlwind of adventure, partly grief, partly a season of memory-making and motion. After selling our house in early June, we packed our lives into storage and set off. From the arrondissements of Paris to the shores of Italy with cousins, from a summer camp nestled in the mountains and vineyards to quiet afternoons wandering unfamiliar streets, the months were filled with both new horizons and the full spectrum of living through the peaks and the valleys alike.

I didn’t have a garden this year. No elderflowers gathered under a midsummer sky, no familiar rhythm of harvest and tending. And to be honest, I felt untethered, carrying myself from place to place with no soil of my own to root into. Yet, I made the intentional choice to ground myself differently, leaning into the present moment, way into the emotions, into the fullness of experience, into the possibility of change, and allow life as it was to flow through me.

Along the way, we were welcomed into the homes and gardens of others. One luminous soul, Grazia, opened her doors and shared her world with us: her garden, her homemade wine, jars of preserves that carried the taste of her land and her love. While the language difference proved to be a bit of a barrier, the love of growing things, preserving food, and kindness transcended them. This September, I’m making Tomato Paste, a Ball® tested and approved recipe to reminisce.

*A bountiful garden in Northern Italy in July*

*Roma tomatoes growing in Grazia’s gardens*

*Amish romas that serendipitously arrived on my doorstep.*

Now the equinox arrives. We’ve returned to the States. The children are getting back to school, and I am beginning to stitch together our rhythms once more. With quiet and space returned to me, I can finally turn toward the task of processing all that spring and summer offered: the abundance, the ache, the small gifts tucked inside fleeting days.

Autumn, after all, is the season of distillation. We gather what was grown, both literal harvests and metaphorical ones, and preserve them. The act of canning, of storing, of holding on, becomes a practice in meaning-making: a way of extracting essence, of carrying wisdom forward. In the slowing down, transformation has a chance to sink in. Seeds of experience can be tucked away for seasons yet to come.

And here I stand now, in a kitchen new to me, painting, unpacking, learning how to make this space a home. One morning, as I stood by the window, I saw an Amish buggy rolling slowly up the driveway. At the door stood a man with jars of jam, golden honey, ears of sweet corn gathered just that morning, hand hewn wooden spoons and, I kid you not, a basket of Roma tomatoes! Exactly what I needed, as though the season itself had conspired to place them in my hands, just in time for this tested and approved recipe from Ball® home canning.

Here I stand, shedding what no longer serves, keeping what still holds with value for me. Grieving, yes, but also honoring the thresholds crossed.

The summer has left me altered, wholly changed, but still sorting. Preserving what was sweetest, what was hardest, and what was real. With the sun in Virgo, I find myself called back to grounding rituals: the simple, steady movements of harvest. Gathering, canning, preserving. Catching the last warmth of the season and holding it close for whatever is to come.

The horizon ahead remains a little hazy, but for now, I return to what roots me: to food, to memory, to home in both body and spirit. Here I practice making meaning out of our travels, our losses, our laughter. Preserving the flavor of Italy, of family, of friendship, the way one might bottle a season in a jar.

And of course, there are tomatoes. The best paste begins with the plum, or Roma tomato, oval, meaty, low in water, high in depth. Ideal for canning, for sauces, for carrying forward the summer sun. This week, I pulled out my Ball® electric water bath canner and set rows of Ball® half-pint jars on the counter, washed and ready to hold the deep, rich paste that will carry us through the colder months. There’s something deeply grounding in the steady rhythm of filling each jar, hearing the reassuring pop of a seal, and knowing that the summer is being preserved, one small vessel at a time.

You can find the recipe for Tomato paste on page 36 of the 38th Edition Ball® Blue Book Guide to Preserving

TOMATO PASTE

Yield: About 8 Ball® Half-Pint Jars

Ingredients

14 pounds of plum tomatoes (about 48 large)

1 teaspoon of salt (optional)

2 sprigs of fresh basil (optional)

2 cloves of garlic (optional)

1 teaspoon of citric acid or ¼ cup of lemon juice

PREP

Wash tomatoes and basil under cold running water; drain. Remove core and blossom ends from tomatoes. Coarsely chop tomatoes. Measure 8 quarts chopped tomatoes. Leave sprigs of basil intact, if using. Peel garlic, if using.

COOK

Combine tomatoes and salt, if desired, in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 1 hour; stirring to prevent sticking. Puree tomato mixture using an electric food strainer or food mill to remove peels and seeds. Return puree to saucepan. Add basil and garlic, if desired. Stir in citric acid or bottled lemon juice. Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture is thick enough to mound on a spoon, about 2 and a half hours. Remove basil and garlic, discard.

FILL

Ladle hot paste into a hot jar, leaving ½ headspace. Remove air bubbles. Clean jar rim. Center lid on jar and adjust band fingertip tight. Place the jar on the rack in the boiling water canner with simmering water. Repeat until all jars are filled.

PROCESS

Water must cover jars by 1 inch. Adjust heat to medium high, cover canner and bring water to a rolling boil. Process half-pint jars for 45 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat and remove cover. Let jars cool for 5 minutes. Remove jars from the canner; do not retighten bands if loose. Cool for 12 hours. Check seals. Label and store jars.

What are you preserving and processing this Autumn?

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post that is part of an ongoing partnership with the Fresh Preserving Division of Newell Brands. They have provided jars, equipment and monetary compensation. All thoughts and opinions expressed remain my own.