As summer turns to fall each year - a little voice in my head (I think of it as my inner-squirrel) starts to give me panicky reminders that it's almost over. Soon the garden that I've been lovingly caring for will be waiting patiently for the spring to begin it all again. And, in these last weeks, I'm driven to save as much of the fresh garden goodness as I possibly can - so that on winter's dreariest days my family can enjoy the tastes of summer (and I get a head-start on gifts for Christmas).
It starts here. My garden. How I love digging in the dirt and working out here with my kids. It means the world to me, really. In the years that we were having trouble getting pregnant and dealing with the difficulties of IVF and bitter disappointment - my garden became sweet therapy. I'm sure that's because my desperate mind connected the miracle of planting a seed in the dirt and caring for it as it grows to the babies I so badly wanted. But, even now, as my miracle babies are about to turn two and three, I find absolute joy in my garden.
I grew more than 120 fruits, vegetables and flowers this year - and along with being busy with fall garden prep, I've been canning, drying and freezing as much as I can both from my garden and local farms. I've included some ideas for preserving below, from my kitchen to yours. Thanks for reading and enjoy!
Canning
I have posted some canning recipes on my blog, and I'll continue to link them as I get the time to post the rest. This year's fall canning included: Slow Cooker Apple Butter, "Apple Pie" Jam, Chunky Cinnamon Applesauce, Peach Jam, Salsa, Jalapeño Jelly, Dill Pickles and Fruit Cocktail. Since I'm posting the recipes for these separately, I'm not going to ramble on about them here. I hope you try some - and hope you like them.
Drying
I love herbs, and my garden is full of them. Basil, lemon basil, cinnamon basil, peppery-purple basil, thyme and lemon thyme, cilantro (my favorite), parsley, sage, rosemary, lemongrass and mint all graced my fall harvest. I save them in two ways - either in a frozen spice blend, described below, or by drying them.
Drying herbs is really the simplest food preservation method I've tried:
Kids can help! Put 'em to work! My garden is a sensory classroom for my kids. When we harvest herbs I take time to show them the different smells, textures and tastes of the plants. They help cut the plants in the right places - and carry wicker baskets to gather the goodies.
You'll need:
Fresh, organic, local herbs to pick. If you don't grow your own, have no fear - check out your local farmers market or a farm stand from a local grower.
Rubber bands
Hooks to hang your herbs from. (I use 3M Command Adhesive hooks to prevent damage to my walls.)
Wall space to hang your herbs in a humidity controlled room (like an air conditioned kitchen).
Dry herb jars, with shaker tops, I use these, by Ball.
Get to work:
Cut your herbs carefully, especially if you'd like to encourage continued growth. Try for a six to eight inch section of stem.
Wash herbs thoroughly with cool water. Don't soak them.
Spread them out on paper towels for a few hours to dry.
Gather herbs by the stem in 1/2" to 3/4" diameter groups. Pick off the bottom inch or so of leaves and wrap the bunch of stem bottoms with a rubber band. Hang them upside down and leave them alone for a few weeks. When they are completely dry and crumble at your touch, they're done. Put them in jars with a shaker top and enjoy for up to a year.
Spice Blends
Now, on to the spice blends. These are wonderful and you can customize them to your cooking style.
Kids can help! Put em' to work! The food processor is one of my kids favorite kitchen tools. They are great at putting food in and love to push the buttons to grind it up.
You'll need:
A food processor
Ice trays with lids, I use these by Fresh Baby that I used to make my girls' baby food in, (or plastic wrap to cover regular trays)
Large yellow onions, one per batch you plan to make
Salted butter, 3 tablespoon per batch
Olive oil, about 1/4 cup per batch (more or less to get the consistency you'd like)
Fresh garlic, three cloves per batch
Herbs of your choice - pick combinations you'll use. For Italian cooking I use a blend of oregano, basil and parsley. Basil, thyme and parsley are good to throw in with sautéed meat and veggies. Rosemary and sage for roasts. Chives with butter and garlic to spread on garlic bread or dollop on top of a steak just before you pull it off the grill. Parsley butter for potatoes or pasta. The combinations are only limited by your imagination!
Get to work:
The base is the same for each blend. To your food processor add one peeled and quartered onion, three cloves of garlic and three tablespoons of butter and purée.
Next, add your herbs and while running the processor drizzle olive oil until the consistency is smooth and creamy. Smell that? Mmmmm.
Scrape the sides of your processor bowl and run it for a few seconds more.
Now scrape the mixture into one of your ice trays. Spread it evenly. Cover and freeze for 24 hours. Then crack them apart (this will require muscles) and freeze in gallon freezer bags. In a deep freeze (-5 to -10 degrees Fahrenheit) they are good for about a year.
When you need them, grab a couple and drop them into your dish. You will be amazed - and will save all that time peeling, chopping and measuring.
Freezing
Last, but not least, freezing fall veggies is a must for me. I freeze more obvious things, like tomatoes and beans. But the majority of my fall freezing is squash. I've read over and over that squash doesn't freeze well. And that's somewhat true - since squash is mostly water, you'll need to be prepared and willing to use it in a less-firm form (and be sure to drain off the water released when thawing) when it comes out of the freezer. But there's so much you can do with it!
Shred it: zucchini is amazingly versatile when shredded. Add a cup of it as a nearly invisible ingredient to baked goods like breads (try my pineapple zucchini bread) and cakes. Or make my zucchini stuffed, bacon wrapped chicken recipe. I freeze sandwich bags with two cups each in them stuffed into larger gallon freezer bags. Since it's pre-measured - I just thaw, drain off the excess water and throw it in. I also shred spaghetti squash and freeze it.
Chop it: zucchini, yellow, hubbard and butternut squash all chop and freeze reasonably well. Chop into large, think chunks to help make up for volume loss caused by freezing/thawing.
Lay pieces out on wax paper lined baking sheets and freeze in a single layer for two hours.
Quickly remove and put into gallon freezer bags. Lay bags flat in the freezer. Individually freezing them this way should help to keep then from ending up as one solid block of squash - so you can scoop out the amount you need.
Spice blend plus chopped squash = yum! I throw chopped chunks of squash in with sauces, sautéed veggies and meat, pasta dishes and roasts. (Whenever you poke your head in the freezer, pick up the bags and move the pieces around to prevent clumping.)
Slice it: Slicing zucchini and yellow squash lengthwise gives you a great layering vegetable. Freeze individually, as described above. Thaw, drain excess water and use in place of noodles for a low-carb lasagna. You can bake them in the oven with cheese for a simple side dish. Or roll them up with cream cheese, spinach and bacon.
These are just a few ways to savor the season a little longer. I hope you enjoy them and have some fun!
These are ideas and recipes from my kitchen and others, where noted on separate posts. I make no guarantee for their safety. To learn more about preserving food safely, please click here.
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