Teaching my children how to can recently resulted in the biggest thrill for me and for my daughter. The students in my 15-year-old daughter's health class were given the assignment to each bring in a favorite food to share with the class. They had to share the recipe, if it was from scratch, or the nutritional analysis if it was prepared and packaged. A microwave was provided for light cooking if required.
After a week of sitting through packaged cookies, chips, pizza rolls, Lunchables, burritos, and mystery meatballs, she got her turn. She brought several quarts of tomato soup that she'd canned last summer, using mostly produce from our garden. A nice combination of heirloom and roma tomatoes, 3 different pepper varieties, celery, onions, cinnamon, cayenne, butter...
She explained to the class that because she was the biggest consumer of tomato soup in our household (she's a fair vegetarian since birth, too), her job every summer is to cook and can the soup concentrate. It takes her about two days to cook enough for the winter. She passed out the list of ingredients, which had no preservatives or corn syrup. Then she mixed the soup with milk, cooked it, and served it.
Apparently, not a drop was wasted, and everyone tried it. That's amazing, given the fact that the teacher reported shock and awe in the eyes of the students. Some mistakenly thought that jars only contained soy candles. Only a few had ever seen food in jars. Most thought canned goods needed to be frozen or refrigerated. And none of them had a clue, not even an inkling, of how canning was accomplished.
She has seen me teach cooking for years, but this was her public debut, besides family. She got to experience the thrill of bringing the class BACKWARD, to a better way of eating, an easier time with family, and a delight in all the flavors of nature. Really, for me, this was right up there with my child making the winning touchdown! She's understood me all these years!