| WHAT TO DO... |
| AFTER THE COOKING IS DONE: LEFTOVER VEGGIES |
| My rule of thumb is to never throw out ANYTHING. Absolutely every bit of leftover has a chance of starring in (or contributing to) a new dish! 1) LEFTOVER TOMATOES: Throw them into the blender (with the skin, just remove the stem, perhaps cut them into chunks for easier blenderizing), then freeze the resulting pulp in 1- or 2-cup portions to be used in your next soup or stew or pasta sauce. Also chuck in any leftover bits of Green Peppers, Hot Peppers, Onions, Carrots, Garlic. Use this mixture, to cook a tasty brown rice (stretch with together with vegetable broth), or as a base for soups, stews, pasta sauce, chili, etc. 2) GREEN PEPPERS, ONIONS, CARROTS: Blend them with some Tomato juice or veg broth if there aren't any fresh Tomatoes left, then proceed as above. 3) GREEN or RED PEPPERS, HOT PEPPERS: Cut into fine strips or dice them, put in freezer baggies. Removing just as much as you need for a dish is very easy this way. 4) SEEDING TOMATOES: Catch whatever you scrape out and freeze for your next pasta sauce or soup or stew (keep a plastic container in the freezer that you can add to). 5) POTATOES: The easiest way to preserve leftover Potatoes is to prepare Mashed Potatoes and freeze in portion size. If they're good-sized, make Baked Potatoes, cut in half (for easier defrosting later), then wrap each piece separately for freezing. After defrosting, they can either be used as is, or chopped up for Potato Casserole. |
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| Unless otherwise noted, all recipes copyright Valkyrie Grant |
| As a 3rd-floor-walkup dweller, I gratefully accept gifts of freshly-harvested vegetables from gardening friends and coworkers. In a good year, I usually get more than can be used up in a timely manner, so here is what I do: 1) TOMATOES: It's always nice to have plenty of blended pulp handy (prepared as described above) but here's another method: Dip Tomatoes into boiling water for easy skinning, then chop them up and freeze in quarts. Especially good for Pasta Sauce when frozen with a bit of freshly snipped BASIL. 2) Wash HOT PEPPERS (Jalopenos, Scotch Bonnet, etc.), dry thoroughly, then freeze whole in freezer baggies (wrap each pepper separately in tinfoil). Can also be chopped up before freezing. 3) Shred ZUCCHINI and freeze by the cup to use in Soups and Stews, or for Zucchini Bread and Pancakes. Or slice for use in soups and stews. *4) GREEN TOMATOES: Even I can only eat so many Fried Green Tomatoes at any one time :). Prepare thick slices as for frying (dip in milk or a milk/egg mixture, dredge through your favourite crumb mixture, then freeze the slices on a cookie sheets lined with tinfoil. When they are hard, layer them in a freezer container or stack them in a baggie. Works best if you put parchment paper between layers. *5) EGGPLANT: Cut into thick slices, sprinkle on a wee bit of salt, let them drain. Pat dry, then proceed with breading and freezing as for Green Tomatoes. 6) GREEN or RED PEPPERS: Cut into strips or dice, seal in freezer baggies. *NOTE: For the best-tasting breading, use a package of Oven Fry Coating Mix for chicken. Scrumptious! |
| WHEN FRIENDLY GARDENERS SHARE THEIR GOODIES: SUMMER BOUNTY |