Save the Season: Freezing Summer

I associate different feelings and moods with different seasons. In the Fall I feel an overall feeling of contentment and coziness. In the winter I mostly just feel cold. In the spring I feel hopeful and fresh. In the summer I feel energetic, excited, committed to eating better and exercising, and completely optimistic. I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time letting go of summer. I have a hard time saying good-bye to fresh herbs in my tiny patio garden, pop-cicles, grilled corn on the cob, pot-lucks in the parking lot, late night walks around the block, and lightning bugs. I have a hard time saying good bye to…

 

Raspberries

Blueberries

Strawberries

and garden veggies.

Although I love the autumn, I was kind of surprised by it this year. Usually after a rain storm, it gets hot again, but not long ago, it rained and never really warmed back up. There is a definite hint of fall in the air and I wasn’t expecting it. I was just going along, minding my own summer business, when BAM! Fall decided to show up. Foot ball season decided to start and the leaves decided to turn yellow and here I am, still wanting to go to the water park. I guess I better get on the Fall wagon and enjoy it before its gone and I am left with winter, thinking “where did fall go?” I think the hot apple cider I am sipping right now is warming me up to the idea of fall, but I am going to save every last bit of summer that I can. Here are some tips and tricks for freezing foods and saving the season.

SAVING FRESH HERBS:

This year I planted some basil, parsley, thyme, and oregano and it did amazing! It grew so well and I had much more than I could use myself. But even if you buy fresh herbs from the grocery store, there are always leftovers. To make them last freeze them or dry them.

1. Freeze them: Chop the herbs up and fill the compartments of an ice cube tray. Gently pour a water into each compartment and freeze. Once frozen, pop cubes out and store in a freezer bag. Anytime you need herbs, just throw a cube or two into the pot.

2. Dry them: Snip off the good, healthy branches. Remove leaves from the bottom part of the stem. Bundle a couple twigs together with string or a rubber band. Hang upside down in a warm, well-ventilated room. Check them every week until they are completely dry, then crumble them into baggies or spice jars.

FREEZING PRODUCE:

What is Blanching?

Before freezing, you need to blanch most produce. What is blanching? It basically half boiling your veggies. It reduces the “action of enzymes, which can destroy fresh flavors. Basically, it helps heighten and set color and flavor, so it’s a must for veggies you’ll freeze for more than four weeks. (Simple and Delicious Magazine June/July 2011)”

How to Blanch:

1. Fill a large sauce pan with enough water to cover the vegetables you are going to blanch. Boil the water.

2. Add the chopped veggies for the specified amount of time. Start counting as soon as you add the veggies to the water. Set a timer! Under-blanching can stimulate the enzymes and ruin the flavor and over-blanching can cause the veggies to loose color and flavor.

3. Drain the veggies and immediately place them in ice water. This stops the cooking process so they don’t over cook. Leave them in the cold water for the same length of time as you boiled them.

4. Drain and pat dry with a paper towel.

Corn on the Cob	6-9 minutes
Whole Baby Carrots	5 minutes
Broccoli Spears	5 minutes
Cubed Egg Plant	4 minutes
Onions	3-5 minutes
Button Mushrooms	3-5 minutes
Asparagus	2-4 minutes
Spinach	2 minutes
Cauliflower Florets	1-2 minutes
Summer Squash	1-2 minutes
Sugar Snap Peas	1-2 minutes
Tomatoes	1 minute

If you live 5,000 feet or more above sea level, add 1 minute to the above times.

Special Tomato Instruction:
1. After blanching and shocking the tomatoes, the peel should slide right off. You don’t want to eat the skin of a frozen tomato. I have also heard that if you freeze them whole, the peel will come off after you freeze them. Either way, you wont want to eat the peel after freezing them.

2. Squish the tomatoes with a spoon or even your fingers to get out all the seeds. Then place them in a colander and squeeze them a little bit more. You can save the juice to cook with or drink later. Draining the liquid off before freezing them will make a thicker tomato sauce. But it is probably ok to not worry too much about getting all the liquid off.

3. Freeze like any other vegetable.

What Can Be Frozen Without Blanching?

• Berries
• Jalapenos
• Bell Peppers
• Herbs

How to Freeze:

1. Lay a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Spread the berries or veggie chunks out so they are not touching one another. Freeze completely. Transfer into a freezer bag after they have been individually frozen.

2. Write the date and ingredient on the bag with a sharpie.

Cooking with Frozen Veg:

Cook them the same way you would fresh veg! They might take slightly less time to cook if they were blanched. Use the smallest amount of water possible to cook them.

Ah, when to the heart of man
Was it ever less than a treason
To go with the drift of things,
To yield with a grace to reason,
And bow and accept the end
Of a love or a season?
~Robert Frost

Tips and tricks from Simple and Delicious Magazine,Taste of Home Magazine, and pickyourown.org