Today was the first day back to school, so it's back to work for me! I am happy to be back to a routine, and the job that I love, but I am very sad to say goodbye to the summer. Of course I'm sad not to have my days free to whatever anymore. But more than anything, I'm sad that the end of summer, means that the season of fresh, garden food is coming to an end. But I'm determined to keep up the "close to nature" eating habits that I've adopted over the summer. And the best way to do that is to freeze the vegetables that are around while they're still available. Click the title of this post or the "read more" link to see some simple methods. |
How to Do It:
Some vegetables are easy to freeze. Simply wash, cut, dry and flash freeze. But for others, you need to add the extra step of blanching them first. Blanching is the process of plunging the vegetables into boiling water for a brief period, removing it quickly, and plunging it into ice cold water to stop the cooking process.
Is Blanching Necessary?
Is blanching necessary? For some vegetables, the answer is yes. Blanching stops enzyme actions which can cause loss of flavor, color and texture. It is technically a process of preserving, but it's not like the preserving that food manufacturers use with chemicals and other unnatural products.
Which Vegetables to Freeze?
Some vegetables freeze better than others. For a list of the best vegetables to freeze and the appropriate blanching times for each, visit THIS LINK. In the meantime, check out the pictures below to see which vegetables I hope to enjoy this winter.
Follow the same steps as above for these vegetables. Be sure to squeeze out all the water from the Swiss Chard.
Peppers can be flash frozen, meaning they don't necessarily need to be blanched first. Simply cut them up, place them onto a tray and place in the freezer until just frozen. Then transfer them to a freezer bag.