He is a long distance bicyclist. He's one of those people who rides for many, many miles and does it for fun! He just completed an annual event called Freewheel 2012. It draws hundreds of like minded enthusiasts to ride over 100 miles and I repeat, just the fun of it! I find this very impressive. If you want to see some neat photos he took on his ride visit his link at: http://midtowndepot.com/fw12.
I'm sure by now you are wondering about the title of today's post, "putting up your harvest". My cool brother asked me to share some tips on what to do with the bountiful harvests we get from our gardens. Especially this year since everyone is getting so many cherry tomatoes. Here are my easy to follow tips.
Peppers
We have a lot of peppers of many varieties but mostly banana and other small peppers. Since I am not in the mood to pickle them this year I am freezing them. They can be frozen fresh. There is no need to blanch them if you don't want to. Make sure you wash and dry them thoroughly. Cut off the stems and remove the seeds. You can cut them up or leave them as is. Place in freezer bags and freeze. They should stay good for at least 12 months.
I also roast them in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Again make sure they are washed and dried thoroughly, place them on a cookie sheet and toss them with some olive oil and salt. After they have cooled down, place in freezer bags and freeze.
If you have large peppers like bells, anahiems or poblanos, I would suggest that you peel them after roasting. Just roast them following the instructions above and place them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Once they are cool you just take the outer skin off and freeze.
Tomatoes
To freeze cherry tomatoes I roast them first. Roast them in a 400 degree oven for about thirty to forty minutes. Just until they have shriveled. Roasting intensifies the flavor of these gems and makes them doubly delicious. Just place the washed and dried tomatoes on a cookie sheet, toss with olive oil and salt and roast. You can also roast these with garlic cloves, peppers and/or chopped up onions. Then you have the makings for an easy to prepare marinara sauce this winter.You can freeze just about anything your little heart desires. My husband and I froze a bushel of corn in their husks. We simply stuffed them in gallon freezer bags. They will keep in the freezer this way for several months.
Miscellaneous Veggies
Remember to wash and dry and cut them to the size you want.
Okra - you can freeze them whole or cut up. I do not blanch them. They freeze well.
Squash - blanch squash for about three minutes, cool, dry and freeze.
Green beans and other beans - blanch for about three minutes, cool dry and freeze.
Herbs
Herbs can be frozen or dried. Wash and dry them thoroughly before proceeding.
To freeze them, simply cut them up, place in ice trays, fill with water and freeze. Once frozen you can put the cubes in freezer bags and simply toss them into your soups and sauces. They will be mushy after freezing but it does not harm their taste.
To dry herbs you can use a dehydrator, a low oven or simply hang them up for a few weeks.
I bought an inexpensive dehydrator at Wal Mart which is very easy to use. You can also use your oven on the lowest temp it has. Just keep an eye on them to make sure they don't burn. The most common method is to hang them up in a cool dark place. Simply tie the bundles with string or twine, cover with a small paper bag and hang. Check them every few days.
The herbs are ready when you are able to crumble them easily. Then store them in plastic bags or small glass containers. I prefer glass containers because I think these keep them fresh longer. Dried herbs will keep for about a year.
There you go folks. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. I welcome any feedback. Please just be nice, I don't take criticism too well!
I will share recipes using all these wonderful ingredients in the future.
Thank you dear brother for today's blog idea. I love you.
SCL
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