preserving the harvest

After three or four weeks of extreme busy-ness I have finally been able to turn my attention back to my garden for more than a brief moment and it seems its just in the nick of time. The zucchini are producing more and more rapidly and my roma tomatoes are turning red in bunches. On top of that the CSA is providing more food than we can eat and it's also the peak of the season for the best of West Michigan produce at the farmers market. While I wasn't looking it seems my kitchen started to overflow with produce. Yesterday, in between steps in canning peach salsa and BBQ sauce, I made a list of the veggies in the fridge because I keep loosing track of what I have.
I feel this compelling urge to can and freeze the abundance it's so beautiful and seems to me so valuable I can't bare to see any of it go to waste. At times even feel guilty for throwing carrot and turnip tops into the compost, but I already have plenty of veggie broth in the freezer. (At least with compost its not a complete waste as it will nourish next year's garden.)
I'm trying to sort out for myself what's behind this urge. I love finding ways to use what I have and create homecooked meals from local ingredients. I enjoy it and I think it's important. I do think choosing to eat seasonally and preserve the abundance is an act of good stewardship. But I also find myself feeling a little obsessed and proud of myself. And I wonder what the right balance is.
I also wonder how much I can urge others to do the same. Canning is a lot of work. I enjoy it, but is everyone called to this lifestyle? I didn't learn this skills from my mom or my grandmother because neither of them enjoy cooking and were happy to give up the more labor intensive aspects. The other day as I mentioned making homemade vinaigrette for our salads my sister-in-law pointed out that I don't have kids so I have time for things like that. I don't know if having children is the difference (I do know others who garden can and bake their own bread while their children learn along side them, and they aren't stay at home mom's either!) But I do wonder if this is for everyone.
All I can say for now is that for me, growing, cooking, and preserving my own food by the seasons is related to a recognition that I and my schedule are not bigger than this world. If God wanted to create tomato plants to produced year round I think God could have, but instead we live in a place of variety and abundance, ebbs and flows and seasons. So when tomatoes and zucchini are plentiful that's what I'm going to eat and in the winter I'm not going to buy the tomato-like-things in the store that where picked green halfway around the world and forced to ripen with chemicals. I also believe the best tasting and most nutritious food is fresh and local and I think that is the food God meant for us to eat and enjoy. So maybe this will never be the accepted norm again, but I am compelled to the kitchen to can my tomatoes.