Week #42 - Food shortcuts to extend your harvest

The fields are cleared and the majority of the harvest is canned, preserved or drying. As the last few weeks of Harvest 2016 wind down, I'm all about shortcuts to make our harvest last. 

Today I made sofrito, a mixture that you can make up when your tomatoes, peppers and onions are fresh and bountiful and fresh as a base for many recipes all winter. 

Sofrito is most commonly used a base for Latin, Puerto Rican, or Italian cooking... but in my mind, there are so many recipes that you need chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic and peppers that it is so handy to have some of this ready to go. Freeze it in ice cube trays and then pop out into freezer bags so that you can grab a tablespoon at a time or freeze flat in freezer bags (I do 2 cups per bag) so that you can grab for recipes all winter long. 

Of course, if you are short on freezer space, I imagine you could can sofrito using a water bath similar to salsa or pasta sauce. 

I use these storage tips for all kinds of garden produce. After making a batch of pesto from my basil harvest, I pop it into ice cube trays to access easier a bit at a time. 

This year we have a large number of sweet red peppers that are ripening late in the season (thanks to the late frost). One of the ways I extend our harvest of peppers, is to roast them, skin them and throw them into the vitamix (blender) along with a healthy amount of garlic. This mixture gets spooned into (you guessed it) ice cube trays and is used for pasta sauce, red pepper dip, and throwing into chili, stews and various sauces. 

What are your tips and tricks for extending your harvest and dealing with an overabundance of any one veggie at this time of year? 

FFF CSA - Week 5/12 - What's in your Box? - Blanching 101

As we prepare our last CSA basket of July, we are seeing the variety and quantity of what we produce grow significantly. At this time of year, we can't harvest fast enough and the week is a juggle of cooler space vs. finding time to harvest! Inevitably, we misjudge and end up with a zucchini or cucumber the size of a baseball bat! 

It is also the time of year that our CSA shareholders are required to actively put away the harvest (or eat a lot of veggies!). Each week, shareholders will need to devote a bit of time to freezing, drying or perhaps pickling to be sure that they can enjoy their veggies well into the fall and winter. 

This week I want to talk a bit about freezing produce. Many vegetables are great frozen but its imperative that you blanch them before you pop them in the freezer! Blanching stops the enzyme action that naturally occurs when they grow and ripen. Freezing only slows this action, resulting in a mushy, flavourless vegetables when you pull them out to eat! Blanching also helps maintain the nutrients within the vegetables and actually brightens their colour!

Blanching is essentially the act of scalding or immersing veggies into boiling water for a short time. This is best achieved by using a pot that has a strainer or basket that fits into it. I use my large pasta pot which has a strainer insert. Bring the water up to a boil and place the prepared/chopped vegetables into the strainer and lower into the water for the appropriate number of minutes. Each vegetable has a different recommended time depending upon how its cut/prepared and what type of vegetable. Here is a link to a handy chart that gives you some guidance on how long to blanch each vegetable. 

Once the appropriate number of minute have passed, pull the strainer out of the boiling water and cool the vegetables quickly via cold water. Otherwise the veggies continue to cook and can get mushy. You can put everything inside a bag or container and pop directly into the freezer, however, I like to lay my blanched veggies out on a cookie sheet and freeze that way before putting them in bags. This way the veggies freeze individually instead of in a large chunk, making it easier to pull out the desired quantity. 

This week you will find many vegetables that are easy and delicious frozen... peas, beans, and carrots would all work well using this method. 

A note about your beans this week! You will notice that you have a variety of beans - yellow, green and purple! Did you know that purple beans turn magically green when they are cooked? Guaranteed to impress, feel free to claim magical powers... we won't tell your kids! 

So... What's in the Box this week?

• Swiss Chard
• Lettuce
• Baby carrots
• Zucchini
• Cucumbers
• Potatoes
• Onions 
• Beans New!
• Peas 
• Bouquet of various herbs including: 
• Chives
• Parsley (flat and curled)
• Cilantro 
• Basil
• Rosemary
• Oregano

Note: We do rinse the produce but it would be prudent to wash all vegetables when you get them home. Keeping the herbs (ends) in a cup of clean water will keep them fresh longer. (unless of course, you are drying them for storage later.)

Reminder: Please return your empty box along with all re-usable containers (ice cream pails, plastic containers, etc) so that we can reuse them all over again. 

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In every nook and cranny....

FFF Photo a Day - Day 300

At this time of year, the house is full of drying bundles of herbs, peppers and greens, hanging off every available hook, in every nook and cranny....

Harvesting herbs

FFF Photo a Day - Day 262

Today felt like summer but the fall is upon us and I was busy harvesting herbs to dry. Here my bundles of oregano wait  for a place on the drying rack...

Week #3 - 2015 FFF CSA - What's in the Box! - The Importance of Keeping Dry!

If you have been following our blog or social media posts this week, you will know that the farm got hit hard by heavy rain and wind on Monday night. Time will tell how the veggies will fair but we really didn't want/need any more rain after some of the heavy downpours last weekend! Alas, we are used to the fickle weather gods and will adapt! 

Despite the rain, we have a number of new treats to share in our CSA boxes! Our peas are ready and there is truly little on earth better than fresh garden peas! My personal opinion is the best way to eat them is standing in the garden....however, a close second would be simply eating them raw (shelled or pod and all) as soon as you get them home! Our shareholders will find a snack of peas in their box this week!

Potatoes are ready to go and with all the rain we are a bit concerned that they will rot in the ground if we leave them, so the boxes contain some tasty nuggets! 

New potatoes are small and sweet. (their sugar has not yet been converted to starch).  They don't have thick skins and rarely need to be peeled. Simply give them a scrub and pop in the pot to boil. Served with butter and salt or even cooled and tossed into a salad... a new potato is unlike the potato that you will get in the fall - so experiment! 

Lastly I wanted to share with you a tip or two for extending the life of the greens that you find in your box each week (or that you pick up from the store). As most are packed wet after rinsing, they can become mushy if not tended to when you get them home. In our house, we often use the ziplock produce bags that you can get at the grocery store. I find that they are worth in the investment (and we re-use them over and over). However, if you don't have these special bags, other plastic bags will work... the trick is to ensure that the greens are as dry as possible. Therefore, I recommend that you take the greens out of the bag/pail and lay them out on papertowel and then roll the whole thing up like a jelly roll. Storing the greens inside the papertowel in a plastic bag ensures it lasts a much longer time! 

So in summary... What's in the Box this week?

• Rhubarb
• Lettuce (mixed greens in bag)
• Zucchini
• Carrots
• Peas
• New potatoes
• Spring turnips (turnip greens are edible too!)
• Broccoli (for full shares only)
• Peppers (spicy)
• Beets 
• Herbs in the red cup: 
• Oregano
• Chives
• Parsley
• Cilantro
• Basil 

Notes to our CSA Share holders: 

We pick the vegetables within 24 hours of the box being delivered. We do rinse the produce but it would be important to wash all vegetables before you eat them. Keeping the herbs (ends) in a cup of clean water will keep them fresh longer.

Please return your empty box along with all re-usable containers (pails, cups, bags etc) so that we can reuse them all over again. 

Follow us on Facebook or on Twitter at @FenezFollies