by Mary Griffiths

Created on: June 28, 2009

So you planted a vegetable garden and it's harvest time. There's too much to eat on a daily basis so now what do you do? Well you can share with family and friends or you can do as I do and freeze things. It's a very easy process and come winter time you will be very happy you took the time to do this.

Supplies:

1 Qt. or Gallon freezer bags (depends on how much you have to freeze)

Large soup pot

Colander

Sharp knife

Sheet trays

Ice

For green beans, trim off the ends and either cut into pieces or freeze whole. Bring a big pot of water to a boil and carefully drop in the beans. Bring the water back to a boil and "blanch" them for 2 minutes. Carefully drain the beans into a colander. Fill the sink with ice water and chill the beans. Drain the beans and lay on a sheet tray. Put the tray in the freezer overnight. In the morning bag up the beans in whatever size bag works best for you. You can use this same process for other vegetables such as peas, cauliflower, broccoli or carrots.

Freezing tomatoes is a little different process but very easy as well. Again boil a large pot of water. Carefully drop several tomatoes into the boiling water and leave in for around 30-45 seconds. The skins will start to peel. Use a big spoon to scoop them out and put into the sink. Continue with all the tomatoes. Use a paring knife to take the skins off and take the cores out. The skins will come off very easily. Cut the tomatoes into pieces or leave whole if you prefer. Put into the freezer bags leaving some room at the top for expansion. Try to get the air out as best you can and seal the bags. Lay flat in the freezer until you are ready to use them in your favorite soup, stews and sauces.

To freeze corn I prefer to take it off the cob rather than freezing it whole. Try to get nice sized fresh corn. If it's old it will be starchy tasting. I like to do several dozen at a time or it's fun to do it with other people in big batches and share. First shuck all the corn. Get a large pot or two of water boiling. When all the corn is shucked, put 4-6 cobs into each pot and bring back up to a boil. Once the the water is boiling again set a timer for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, fill two sinks with ice water. This is how you will quickly cool the corn. After 3 minutes put the corn into the first sink and refill the pot with more corn. Repeat the process. When the next batch is done take the first batch out and place into the second sink. Add more ice as it melts. Take the corn from the second sink and drain in a colander. When it's well drained use a sharp knife to cut the corn from the cob. Using a butter knife scrape the remaining corn from the cob being careful not to get too close to the cob. Doing so would make it cobby tasting. Mix all the corn and scrapings together and put into 1 Qt. freezer bags. Squeeze out as much air as possible. Lay the bags flat in the freezer.

I find that all these vegetable are good in the freezer until the next season. After that they start to get freezer burned. I hope you'll try these methods out. You'll not only save a ton a money but you'll feel better about serving your family and friends something healthy that you did with love!

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