Category: freezer

Celery leaf

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I harvested all of this Afina leaf celery. It seemed like a small patch, but there is lots of it. A pound and a half of fluffy leaves took up the whole counter. I triple-washed them and was trying to dry them somewhat before packing them in freezer bags and popping into the freezer. I had already de-stemmed them, washed the stems, and frozen them in separate bags.

We don’t eat a lot of celery. But this is easy to grow and has good flavor. This was the only plant that thrived in the rather shady spot under the cucumber trellis. I tried cilantro there, and lettuces, carrots, kale and fennel – they all missed the full sun and grew halfheartedly.

This makes an excellent addition to vegetable stock and is a good parsley substitute. This year I barely grew any parsley and I’ve missed having it around.

Someday I will have a dehydrator. That would work better than the freezer for this leafy stuff, I think.

Broccoli overabundance

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This project took all afternoon. There was an overabundance of broccoli in the garden. It was impossible to keep up with unless we wanted to eat broccoli every day, twice a day. Some of it was flowering, some of it was way past its prime. I decided to harvest all I could find and go through it, removing the bad and preserving the good.

Result: five pounds of broccoli, chopped, blanched and frozen. Probably equally that amount tossed onto the compost. I’m glad that’s done.

Freezer inventory

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Early spring is a sparse time of year food-wise. The hoophouse greens were mostly eaten by voles last winter, except for the arugula and some kale. We still have garlic and a few squash stored. But no onions, carrots, parsnips or potatoes. Our root-saving capability is just not there. I tossed a fair number of potatoes into the compost because they were shriveled and sprouting. I could have planted them, but I have no desire to dig in the ice-cold soil yet.

On the upside, I found a baby garlic sprout under the mulch the other day. Very exciting!

So, feeling somewhat lacking in fresh food, it’s time to get serious about what is still in the freezer. It’s so easy to forget what’s available right here at home. So here goes.

Freezer compartment above refrigerator:

  • Old stuff – Small amount of decaf coffee beans, jar of Brazil nuts, partial bag of commercial frozen corn, fist-size congealed clump of frozen banana
  • Flours/grains – Little bag of whole wheat flour, bag of masa harina, bag of almond meal
  • Herbs/flavorings – A few knobs of ginger, small bag of dill weed, a few disks of horseradish, packet of basil leaf
  • Small bag of shredded zucchini (3 cups)
  • Small bag of sliced okra
  • Small bag of blueberries for morning cereal
  • Small bag of diced jalapenos

Chest freezer:

  • Dyeing – Bag of avocado waste and a gallon of walnut dye
  • Squash – Bag of squash puree, 4 large bags of bite-sized squash, serving of spiced squash soup, serving of squash chili, 6 small containers of squash soup, two servings of pumpkin curry
  • Tomatoes – 5 thin bags of pulp, 1 small bag of salsa
  • Peppers – 1 serving of stuffed peppers, 4 small bags of chopped green pepper
  • Herbs – 2 flat packets of basil leaf, 3 bags of basil pesto, 1 bag of celery leaf, two disks of horseradish
  • Peas – 1 fat bag
  • Shredded zucchini – 6 small bags
  • Parsnips – 1 large bag
  • Blueberries – 5 large bags
  • Fava beans – 3 small bags
  • Two disks of homemade broth
  • 1 serving of barley bean stuffing

Looks like we’ll be eating a lot of squash. There’s so much frozen squash because of the bountiful harvest and the need to rescue a lot of it during the winter as rotten spots appeared.

Goals:

  • Eat the prepared food servings for dinner over the next few weeks.
  • Use up some of the herbs and flavorings and miscellaneous vegetables in my homemade stock.
  • Eat some blueberries daily on cereal or salads.
  • Cook zucchini bread with the shredded zucchini after thawing and pressing.
  • Use the tomato pulp in sauce or for cooking.

Jalapeños

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I received a gift of jalapenos from my friend’s garden. I didn’t think to photograph them until I had chopped them all up. These will go into the freezer on cookie sheets and then into bags for use as needed.

Of course, I didn’t have rubber gloves. Now my hands, nose, and upper lips are suffering with the burning sensation. At least I haven’t touched my eyes or other sensitive parts yet.

Tomatillos

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I harvested the last of the tomatillos today. One more batch of salsa to be made.

This was my first time growing them. I’ll grow them again. I like the flavor they add to salsa. They did okay in the hoophouse, but I wish they matured earlier. Maybe more water?

Basil for freezing

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Twelve ounces of basil leaves

I harvested one row of the remaining basil patch in the hoophouse. Following this blog post’s recommendation of the best way, I washed and dried the leaves and stuffed them into freezer bags. Easy. Much easier than attempting to freeze as pesto in ice cube trays, which was honestly a disaster.

More basil to process, about three times that much again. I like it fresh but it’s starting to get brown.

An Oregon Cottage – Freezing Basil Leaves 6 Ways: Which is Best?

Freezer inventory 2018

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Not very scientific, but an attempt to keep track.

Apples, 6 bags slices

Blueberries, 2 large bags, 2 small bags

Broccoli, 2 small bags, 1 larger bag florets

Fennel, 2 bags chopped, 2 bags stalks, 1 bag fronds

Garlic scapes, 2 bags

Green beans, 4 bags

Green peppers, 2 bags strips, 2 bags diced

Leeks, 5 bags

Mushroom broth, 2 bags

Pumpkin, 5 bags purée

Salsa, 2 large bags

Scallions, 2 bags bulbs, 2 bags green tops

Squash, 3 bags puréed winter squash, 3 bags delicata rings, 2 bags buttercup segments

Tomatoes, 4 bags pulp/purée