So I bought a lot of fresh produce from the Farmer's Market to freeze, and after cutting and bagging it, it doesn't feel like much.

[Faith-manor]

I think that the FDA is just going to have to change those recommendations on vegetables. 1 tbsp should be a serving! 😁

I had four large heads of broccoli, and it only turned into five quart size bags. The brussel sprouts were in a box that my guess is would hold three or four quarts of strawberries so maybe a similar amount. Bagged up doesn't seem like much. My four large red bell peppers are going to dehydrate into molecules, 😂, but that is to be expected. It is also going to take 24 hrs for one batch, and I can't do more than two peppers at a time since my big dehydrator gave up the good fight after a decade. I will end up needing to do several batches of those.

Next week I do carrots for stews. Mostly, if my family would just stop eating, that would be easier! 😆

The twenty something trio of boys asked for homemade applesauce for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They eat generous helpings of this. My guess is it is going to take a dump truck of apples. 😜

Anyone else in preserving/harvest mode yet? Trying anything new?

[mathnerd]

I sauté bell peppers and mushrooms in olive oil and cool and freeze in clumps when I have too much. I add a little at a time to recipes. I also freeze whole cherry tomatoes that I grow.

[Faith-manor]

2 minutes ago, mathnerd said:

I sauté bell peppers and mushrooms in olive oil and cool and freeze in clumps when I have too much. I add a little at a time to recipes. I also freeze whole cherry tomatoes that I grow.

I never thought about sauting mushrooms. How is the texture after freezing?

[cjzimmer1]

New to me this year are dehydrating shredded carrots and zucchini.  My hope is that I can hide them in something else and get extra veggies in people.  Only a couple of the kids will enjoy zucchini with me and of course even one hill overproduces so I need a way to get those who don't enjoy zucchini to eat it too. I found a recipe for dehydrated cucumbers.  I have to buy some powdered buttermilk and then I will run a load of those.

A couple of weeks ago I bought the new electric pressure canner and I canned some pints of hamburger and some chunks.  Didn't have quite enough meat for one so I sorta followed the recipe for pot roast in a jar and threw in some carrots, potatoes and spices in the last jar.  Of course that was the only jar in the batch that didn't seal but it was okay as it gave me a chance to taste test pressure canned potatoes.  I have to say they were delicious and so I'll be doing potatoes when I get up to the Amish produce action to pick up some.

This morning I canned brushetta for the first time.  The recipe has possibilities but definitely needs some tweaking on the salt/spices for our tastes.  I'm also hoping to do a round of spaghetti sauce this afternoon if I find a good recipe.  I was so overloaded with tomatoes last year I canned everything plain but it's enough for 2-3 years.  The plan was not to preserve any tomatoes this year but my plants had other plans and I've still got way more than we can eat fresh so I'm experimenting with all those other sides/sauces/condiments that I forego each year for lack of time/energy when I busy with the normal plain ones that we use the most of.

Peaches should be coming in the next week or 2 and I'll freeze a couple of bushels.  I think I missed out on the blueberry sales this year.  I only saw them on sale one week and I was on vacation that week.  Bummer, but I'm still watching hoping they may run a sale when the Michigan ones are ready (the first sale was on the New Jersey ones which come earlier)

I did throw a couple of bags of cherry tomatoes in the freezer so I can have fresh roasted tomato sauce in the winter.

[MEmama]

I just learned (here, of course) that I can freeze scallions! And that pickled scallions are amazing and can be canned. And that scallion pesto is a thing and can be frozen!

Can you tell I had an over abundance of scallions? 😂

[AmandaVT]

I spent yesterday afternoon turning  a 5 gallon bucket of crabapples into jelly with a friend! Feels like we started with a lot of apples and ended up with a modest amount of jelly.

 

 

 

[mmasc]

@Faith-manor I’d love your homemade applesauce recipe if you’re willing to share! I’ve never made it and would like to try a tried-and-true recipe.

[MEmama]

I freeze most of my excess garden and farm share produce.

I grow a ton of peppers (shishitos do really well in my garden, bells take too long) and freeze bags and bags. I’m still working on using up bags from last summer—and we eat a lot of peppers.

I usually sauté down tomatillos before freezing so they take up less space; also it’s easier to just break off however much I want in a recipe.

Kale freezes really well. So do sliced onions.

At the end of the season I pickle the green tomatoes still remaining. I prefer them quick pickled so they stay crunchy; canning IME leaves them a mushy disappointment. Of course frying them is delish  too. 🙂 
 

[Faith-manor]

6 minutes ago, mmasc said:

@Faith-manor I’d love your homemade applesauce recipe if you’re willing to share! I’ve never made it and would like to try a tried-and-true recipe.

Well, I hate to say it, but it isn't much of a recipe. My kids like it tart so I get honey crisps, peel, core, chop, and cook down. We don't add sugar and freeze it in pint containers. Then when I serve it, I warm it and have some warm maple syrup in a little pitcher on the table which they can drizzle over it if they like.

Sorry, not much help there!

[Faith-manor]

11 minutes ago, AmandaVT said:

I spent yesterday afternoon turning  a 5 gallon bucket of crabapples into jelly with a friend! Feels like we started with a lot of apples and ended up with a modest amount of jelly.

 

 

 

Wow! I am so impressed! Jelly and Jams are things I don't do. I feel like if I make applesauce I have stood at the stove too long! 😁

[MEmama]

15 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

Wow! I am so impressed! Jelly and Jams are things I don't do. I feel like if I make applesauce I have stood at the stove too long! 😁

I avoid the stove by using a crockpot. Easiest applesauce ever— just core and chop apples and let them simmer down with a touch of water in the crockpot. Can extras if there is any. 🙂

 

[Faith-manor]

1 minute ago, MEmama said:

I avoid the stove by using a crockpot. Easiest applesauce ever— just core and chop apples and let them simmer down with a touch of water in the crockpot. Can extras if there is any. 🙂

 

Oy! Why didn't I think of that???? 

[prairiewindmomma]

We just harvested peaches.

I thought I would have enough to freeze, but my teens are taking care of the peaches.

 

[Carrie12345]

I am trying to gear myself up to do All The Things. A few days back, I pressure canned for the very first time, and I was happy with how that went. 
I’m really struggling to set a prioritized list of what to do when. If I don’t get that done, I WILL wind up with a rotting farm all over my kitchen and dining room!

[mathnerd]

1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:

I never thought about sauting mushrooms. How is the texture after freezing?

I don't see any change in texture after freezing sautéed mushrooms. I have been buying Trader Joe's frozen Sauteed Mushroom Medley for a while and then decided to make it myself and freeze because I add it often to my soups and stir fries and it is easier to do so if it is ready to go!

[MEmama]

9 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

We just harvested peaches.

I thought I would have enough to freeze, but my teens are taking care of the peaches.

 

Oh man, I am envious. We do not get good peaches here, in fact they are so consistently disappointing I only buy them canned. Isn’t that sad?

Oh wait, many years ago I did find  local peaches that were actually delicious. That farm stand is no longer operating though, and I’ve yet to find more. At least we have wild blueberries in abundance. 🙂 

[prairiewindmomma]

2 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Oh man, I am envious. We do not get good peaches here, in fact they are so consistently disappointing I only buy them canned. Isn’t that sad?

Oh wait, many years ago I did find  local peaches that were actually delicious. That farm stand is no longer operating though, and I’ve yet to find more. At least we have wild blueberries in abundance. 🙂 

Harvest is hit or miss here—it’s often too cold at bloom time. Our neighbor’s tree has grown 80% over the fence line into our yard. Most years we only have a handful of fruit, but the tree was loaded this year because I have been pruning what hangs over since we moved into the house a few years ago. 
 

Our area had a bad berry season because the 115F weather happened right before harvest. It all became ripe at once and the season lasted about a week. 😞 

[RootAnn]

We were gifted a ton of peaches (and some "donut peaches" which we'd never heard of but which were delicious!), so DH canned them.

He's canned pickles, and we have way too many big cucumbers. Anyone have a good cucumbers dip (like that uses cucumbers) recipe?

I'd love zucchini or pears because I use lots of baking recipes that use those. The people we used to get pears from chopped the tree down, so no more pears for us.

[AmandaVT]

1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:

Wow! I am so impressed! Jelly and Jams are things I don't do. I feel like if I make applesauce I have stood at the stove too long! 😁

I'm usually more of an applesauce person myself, but my friend loves to can things so I let her direct me! I must have asked about botulism 5 times while we worked. 😂 😵

[fairfarmhand]

1 hour ago, Carrie12345 said:

I am trying to gear myself up to do All The Things. A few days back, I pressure canned for the very first time, and I was happy with how that went. 
I’m really struggling to set a prioritized list of what to do when. If I don’t get that done, I WILL wind up with a rotting farm all over my kitchen and dining room!

And gnats. Don't forget about the gnats from all the farm produce.

[Faith-manor]

2 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Harvest is hit or miss here—it’s often too cold at bloom time. Our neighbor’s tree has grown 80% over the fence line into our yard. Most years we only have a handful of fruit, but the tree was loaded this year because I have been pruning what hangs over since we moved into the house a few years ago. 
 

Our area had a bad berry season because the 115F weather happened right before harvest. It all became ripe at once and the season lasted about a week. 😞 

I am so sorry to hear that! 115 degrees would push me to the edge of extinction.

[prairiewindmomma]

1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:

I am so sorry to hear that! 115 degrees would push me to the edge of extinction.

Sadly, 96 people in our state did die that weekend. Hundreds more sought ER treatment or were hospitalized. Our normal temps for that time of year are 75-80F.

 

[Frances]

5 hours ago, mmasc said:

@Faith-manor I’d love your homemade applesauce recipe if you’re willing to share! I’ve never made it and would like to try a tried-and-true recipe.

We just cook the diced apples with a bit of water and lots of cinnamon until soft and then mash with a potato masher. If people here liked it chunkier, we would skip the last step. It is also a staple at our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

[mathnerd]

25 minutes ago, Frances said:

We just cook the diced apples with a bit of water and lots of cinnamon until soft and then mash with a potato masher. If people here liked it chunkier, we would skip the last step. It is also a staple at our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

do you peel the apples before you cook them or leave the skins on? Any particular types of apples or will anything do? Thanks!

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, mathnerd said:

do you peel the apples before you cook them or leave the skins on? Any particular types of apples or will anything do? Thanks!

We take the skins off. My kids have always been picky about skins. They like Honeycrisps, Braeburns, and Granny Smiths because of texture and tartness. They really like tart. But, if no one cares that much, you can make them from most any variety.

[Frances]

1 hour ago, mathnerd said:

do you peel the apples before you cook them or leave the skins on? Any particular types of apples or will anything do? Thanks!

We take the skins off. We generally buy a mix of apples, usually more tart ones, but most any will work. 

[bibiche]

6 hours ago, RootAnn said:

Anyone have a good cucumbers dip (like that uses cucumbers) recipe?

Do a search for tzatziki or cacik. Very simple, very delicious and refreshing. I eat this with every meal in the summer.

[Frances]

I love tzaziki. I use 2/3 cup of plain Greek yogurt. Peel the cucumber and finely grate enough for 2 heaping tablespoons. Add to the yogurt along with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, and chopped garlic to taste and some finely chopped dill. If it needs to be thinner, you can use some of the cucumber juice. I like to slice the remaining cucumber and use it with shallots and olive oil, white wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to make a simple salad or garnish.

I don’t always have fresh dill on hand and it’s just fine without it.

Edited August 7, 2021 by Frances