All photos (c) 8/27/11, Kathy Fannon (Click images to enlarge)
There are only a few weeks left to get Red Haven peaches. Peppers and onions must be stocked for winter soups and omelets. The cucumber needs to be marinated. And tomatoes and basil just need to be eaten!
I peeled and cut the peaches and put them on a cookie sheet to freeze. Often I let them freeze overnight before putting them into freezer bags. They usually freeze onto the pan because of the juice, but I just run a washcloth under hot water, wring tight, then set the sheet on the washcloth. They warm up right away and just enough to pull the peaches off the pan to get them into a bag!
Last year was the first winter I froze peaches and I ate them all within a couple of months. This year I'm freezing a few more and will see how long they last in the freezer. These will be especially delicious when I thaw a few for breakfast in the fall!
I love snack-size bags for freezing onions and peppers; one pepper or half of an onion fit perfect. When I make omelets I split a bag between my husband and I (of both peppers and onions). When I make soup I just dump a bag-full in! (Sometimes two.) Easy, because the chopping work is already done; and I never thaw them first. Time saver!
I put the snack-size bags in a quart-size freezer bag to store. It also keeps the onion from sharing itself with the berries in my freezer!
The cucumber...oh, the cucumber! How I enjoyed holding a cucumber without a waxy coating! I peeled and thin-sliced this baby and thew it in some marinade. I LOVE vinegar, so my mix of 1 part water and 1 part white vinegar may be a little strong for you, but it is yummy! I also added a little salt and garlic powder.
I roasted corn again on Saturday. I may try for a few more ears this week again, but I think I'm all set on that for the winter. I spent about 3 hours in the kitchen with all of my chopping, peeling, slicing, marinading, husking and freezing. Yeah, it took some time, but I love doing it and I listened to my iPod while I worked so the time went really fast. And now I won't have to do the work later! Doesn't it all come out the same in the end anyway? Actually, it probably saves time because you don't have to keep getting the cutting board out and washing and putting away that knife!
When I finished with all of that I made some Whole Wheat-Honey Quinoa muffins. Then I sat down for lunch with Caprese Salad made with the tomatoes and basil I got at the farmers market. Altogether, I spent 5 hours in the kitchen, but it flew by!
How did you spend your Saturday? Summer is almost done, what activities are you trying to squeeze in at the last minute?
Was anything in this post helpful to you? Please be sure to share it with your friends so they can be helped too! Thank you!
Read my previous post: Healthy Low-Cost Lunch (Hint: You'll be surprised by how much vitamin C is in one cup of broccoli!)
