The Great Jar Search of 2007

It's that time of year and I have been searching for the special gift for our dear friends and family. This year we are going for something homemade. We decided that nothing says, "You're the best" like pesto mustard. Who wouldn't want something a little spicy for your wiener... or your sandwich. But this isn't just any old mustard, this fresh mustard combined with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar becomes a tangy salad dressing.

I am new to the world of jarring. I did not grow up canning, nor do I have any relatives whom carry on this charming tradition. When we naively set out looking for 1/2 pint Kerr jars, we weren't finding any, not a single one. We have been shaking down every Walmart, Safeway, and hardware store looking for the precious jars. My husband, my step-mom and I have been canvassing the area. We have been checking in reporting our progress to each other, coming up with new strategies for looking for a week.

Last night, at the last store my husband went to, which happened to have one case of jars on the farthest shelf up possible, informed us that stores only carry them during the summer, since that is when everyone "cans" or "jars", whatever the hell they do when they decide to "put-up" fruits and vegetable for the winter. Well how would I know? We live in the San Francisco Bay Area, the biggest season change we get is fog or no fog. And since we live a few hours from the central valley which provides fruits and veggies for the whole west, it's not like we have a direct need to capture the splendor of summer produce in a jar.

With 12 jars in our hands, and needing 24 more, my step-mother hit the hard retail streets this morning once more and struck gold at Ace Hardware. We were able to find our 24 more jars for our hapless jarring project.

Retailers of the Bay Area, I have a new season for you, it's mustard season. It begins December 1st, so you better have your jars ready for us, because purchasing them during the summer and hanging on to them for six months is just too much work.