The weather now is beautiful and local farms are producing lots of great fresh vegetables, at reasonable prices.
The cold snap we had last week has made the Brussels sprouts much better.
The price of gas has gone down but will likely rise in 2 weeks as we progress towards Thanksgiving which means these local farm bargains, will be history.
With this in mind I have set about saving some time, lots of money and making sure my clients get the best food possible.
Every day this week I am buying extra vegetables, I bring them home, wash them well, trim and peel them (where necessary..organic carrots do not need peeling) then I either:
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| (I am doing onion as I will use them this week, after this photo I double bagged them..for home use just process a few as they lose their strength overtime in freezer..and don't prepare garlic in advance or it loses it's oils) |
Method A:
Onions, carrots, celery
which Will all double in price in 3 weeks
Process and chop to different lengths for different types of dishes, place in plastic seal able bags, mark them and then freeze them (I am very lucky as I have 3 deep freezers, one I store just fruit in..mainly local berries and this years currants which I will sun dry in the next few weeks)
OR Method B
Brussels sprouts, field asparagus, green beans & etc...blanch in boiling water with baking soda added (1 tsp to 3 quarts) this keep their color, no point in adding salt as the vegetables are plunged into cold water after just a minute in the boiling pan.
Then I drain and air dry them, and freeze flat on waxed paper (or foil), before placing in vacuum bags and freezing...this way they stay loose and frozen individually.
Easy to prepare either defrost overnight in the fridge or cook directly from frozen.
All the carrot. celery and onion trimmings make a good vegetable stock base ..which can be boiled and seasoned and maybe stored in containers or even freezer bags/ice cube trays.
Don't make stock from cabbages or Brussels Sprouts & etc. or it will sour quickly.
Handy ways to save money and it only takes a couple of hours in between baking..Happy, Safe and Economical eating...John Nigel
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