Peppers - Green and Purple??

While Jules was visiting, she also took the kids over to Grandma Green Acres' garden to make sure all the produce was picked.  Grandma & Grandpa Green Acres have been on vacation and left the kids in charge of the garden.  I haven't made it over, so was very grateful Jules took on this task.  They picked raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, and peppers. 

In our garden, they picked 13 zucchini - only one of which was still usable (the rest were quartered for composting) and tomatoes!!!  The tomatoes you see on the counter are from my sprawling tomato garden - and they are red.

The peppers were purple and green.  I haven't raised purple peppers before, but their flavor is very mild.  I cleaned and sliced all the purple peppers.  At the end, 9 bags of sliced purple peppers went into the freezer.  Of the green peppers, 3 were sliced and one was diced.  I used to blanche the peppers, but have since learned it's an unnecessary step. 

So, the raw peppers are bagged and Food Saver seals the bags for freezing.  Slick and easy.  Ready to go for a winter casserole or soup.  I do label and date the bags before freezing, BTW.

Loads of corn

I have never 'put up' this much corn in one year!  In fact, the amount put up in just this year probably tops what I've done in all my married years combined.  THANK goodness my sister was here last week to help with the last batches.  It would have been overwhelming for me alone.

1.  The first step is to clean the corn - basically de-silk and remove any damaged areas.  I wash in the right sink and transfer the cleaned cobs to the left sink/dish drain.

2. The kernals are cut off each cob.  I've found a sharp paring knife works best and is quickest for me.  I've tried other methods, but just prefer this.  I cut the kernals in a brownie pan and use a second pan to collect the 'cut' cobs.  The 'cut' cobs go into the compost pile.

3. I have a LOT of 'cut' cobs in the compost.  My compost has three sections, the cobs are dumped in the long term compost!  They'll take a while to decompose, but eventually I'll transfer them to the main pile.

4. One batch is comprised of 9 cups corn kernals, 3 cups water, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 Tbls. salt.  This mixture is brought to a boil, boiled for 15 minutes, then cooled.  I like to cool the blanched/cooked corn overnight and package it for freezing the next day.

5. My sister, Jules, and I made enough to create 8.5 to 9 batches, which we spread out between four pots.  One pot is already cooling in the frig.  Thank goodnes for a large cooktop.

6.  I was up early the next morning to package corn for freezing.  This is the first year I've frozen in 3 cup packages.  Our family is growing and the boys are eating more.  I also froze at least a dozen 2 cup packages to give to Jules - as a thank you for all the hard work!  I used the Food Saver, but you could use freezer bags.  You'll just need to use the corn more quickly.  I've found that the Food Saver preserves and protects from freezer burn for up to two/three years.  While nutritional content may not be as good the last year, flavor has not been an issue.

** I think this might become an annual event, because I cannot imagine doing this alone.  My kids just aren't quite old enough to do the cutting (they could probably wash/clean, but I'm picky about that task - I don't want to be picking out husk & silks from the cut kernals!).  Next year, I'll have to remind Jules to bring a cooler so she can take her portion home right away.

Freezing Onions

I haven't done this before, so I asked help from a friend who does this with 20 lb. or more bags of bulk onions. She mentioned that onions are really hot this time of year and that maybe I should consider wearing goggles! After purchasing about 10 lb. of onions from the food buying club in late January, I had intended to store them in my root cellar. However, during the two weeks of sitting on the boot bench waiting for me to find time, some had sprouted and two had completely spoiled.

Yesterday became the day to tackle the onions.

I started cleaning and quartering early in the morning and quickly realized this job would have to be done in spurts and inbetween tears! I could only do about 4 or 5 before needing a break. Needless to say, it was a long process and took all day to complete. I thought to myself, how in the world am I going to chop these when I can barely handle quartering?? And, where are the kids' swim goggles??



Thank goodness I remembered the handy food processer attachment on my blender. The first batch was chopped very finely - more my ineptitude at chopping the first time & not intended. The next batches were chopped to the size that I would normally use in dishes and soups.

My friend did recommend double bagging & then storing in a container. They are smelly and I don't want the smell to migrate to other foods in the freezer. So far, they are double bagged. I froze them on a tray last night and will remove them to a covered container for long term storage today. The onions are frozen in 1/2 cup packs (in a sandwich baggie) and then double bagged in freezer ziplocs.

It wasn't too bad, and I needed a good tear jerker anyway.