The slow lull of winter always drive the need for regenerate recipe inspiration in our kitchen . We work hard all summertime to maintain and pile away so much of the harvest bounty with the expert intent to feed ourselves all wintertime , but right around now that we take a motivational plan for using up that dry pint of frigid spinach plant in the freezer as we dream of and crave fresh greens from the leap garden .
On our Wisconsin farm and bed - and - breakfast , Inn Serendipity , we typically freeze out most of our garden harvest for the method ’s simmpleness and efficiency . All summer long , we shred , blanch or tray - suspend our garden goodies , packing the produce into satisfying deep freezer containers and lining them up in our 13 - cubic - substructure chest freezer in the cellar . Chest freezers , when full , can take to the woods more energy efficient than vertical - case deep-freeze , as not as much frigid air escapes when you snarf start the chapeau .
Throughout the winter , we de-ice and eat on through our frozen garden harvest home . Ideally , we countenance the deep freezer containers lento defrost for a few day in the refrigerator . This defrosting appendage avail to keep the icebox cool , thus function less .
But by the time mid - wintertime rolls around , we need a dose of culinary motivating to use up those lingering items from last year , as our design is to always fully eat on through the deep-freeze by April so we can disconnect and clean it out to start new the next time of year . We ’ve see icy courgette is not crimson wine ; do n’t save it past one time of year , as it definitely wo n’t improve !
Here are three strategies we use for that freezer :
1 . Cook favorite recipes . This is a good metre of year to reverse to classic family formula favorites — those dishes we ca n’t seem to get enough of that , ideally , expend up a lot of a certain stockpiled point . Spanakotpita , the Greek spinach Proto-Indo European dish mentioned inlast workweek ’s web log post , habituate a humongous three cup of packed , fixed Spinacia oleracea or Swiss chard , so we ’re always making that formula this time of yr as to use up the last of our glacial greens .
2 . Experiment with new recipe . Take the slower winter month to try some new dishes , based on your leftover harvest home ingredients . Sometimes all it take is depend at an old recipe a new way . For lesson , our family loves egg coil . Every summer we make a big batch ofstir - fried veggies , roll the testicle rolls with egg axial rotation wrappers , fry them and freeze the bowl for wintertime meal . Last week we found in the freezer several container of frozen pea plant pods and broccoli , along with a camp of egg bun wrap . We never made egg rolls with frozen veggies . But a little experiment proved delicious : We let the veg defrost first and debilitate out any piddle . We decided they try out better this way than my old self-aggrandising - batch technique .
3 . Tweak next time of year ’s conservation plan . Take a minute and think about why you have a freezer abundance of a certain item , and readjust yourpreservation planfor the next grow time of year . For a few years , we always ended up with too much frozen zucchini . We realized we were just too enthusiastic about freeze the copiousness of zukes during the summer , but did n’t have too many recipes for nor frankly liked the grain of frozen courgette . Therefore , we did n’t fake with it much in the winter . Note to ego : It ’s serious to share the extra fresh courgette with supporter and neighbor in the summertime than over - stock the freezer .
And think , springtime and those first pea plant tendrils are just around the snowy corner !
Savoring the good life ,
< < More Farmstead Chef > >
