Friday Favorite: Frozen Strawberries
Way back in June, we had a flush of strawberries. Our patch produced over 100 quarts of berries. A few went into a batch of jam, some were eaten fresh, some went to the neighbors, and the rest were frozen. Lately, on these hot days, I’ve been enjoying strawberry smoothies for my lunch.
They’re quick to make, tasty to eat, and give me just the right boost of energy without being too filling. I add frozen strawberries to the blender, a spoonful of Greek yogurt, a pinch of salt, and a splash of maple syrup. Whir it all up and enjoy!
What’s your favorite quick meal on a hot day of garden work?
Filed under Cooking | Comments (2)Making the Most of Each Harvest
One of the things I find myself doing is trying to maximize what I can grow in the garden. I don’t like to waste anything, particularly things I grow. The result has been a lot of creative ways to use up things that might otherwise go into the compost, like broccoli stems.
I used to peel them and cut them up, then I started putting them in my mini food processor and dicing them finely. Then I make slaw with them or blanch and freeze them to be added to soups or sauces. I really love doing this because it essentially doubles my broccoli harvest. These shredded bits are particularly good in the curried broccoli soup I love to make.
Do you have any great tips for maximizing your vegetable harvests?
Filed under Around the Garden, Cooking, Harvest Keepers Challenge | Comments (7)Friday Favorite: Rehash
Last Friday I talked about homemade pizza and how I make it and freeze it. There were lots of questions in the comments so I decided to answer a few of them here. First off, I bake the pizzas before freezing, though not fully. I undertake them by a minute or two. The key is to get the crust fully cooked but not browned. Then I cut the pizzas in quarters and freeze them in ziploc bags. If I want to freeze them whole or in halves I use the 2 gallon ziploc bags.
When I want to reheat the pizza is usually pull it out and thaw it on the counter for 15 minutes or so. Then I warm it in a cast iron skillet – crazy I know. Pizza reheats much better in a skillet than it does in the oven, I think it doesn’t dry out as much and the crust gets much crispier.
So if you have any more questions about freezing and reheating homemade pizza let me know, I’ll be more than happy to answer them.
Filed under Cooking | Comments (2)Friday Favorite: Homemade Pizza
Mr Chiots loves pizza. There aren’t a ton of place that are close and convenient so we sometimes make our own. Last night I finally had time to make eight, one to eat and seven for the freezer. Now we have quick meals this summer that will pair perfectly with a salad.
I used this sourdough pizza crust recipe and it turned out very well, definitely a dough I’ll be making over and over again! They were topped with fresh mushrooms, red onions from the garden, kalamata olives, and Italian sausage from our pigs. Perfectly delicious.
What’s your favorite pizza topping?
Filed under Cooking, Friday Favorites | Comments (16)The Incredible Egg
Most mornings I have eggs for breakfast. I eat them poached, fried, scrambled, baked into frittatas, and pretty much any other way I can think to fix them. Now that all the ducks are laying I often eat an egg from each type of bird. Muscovy eggs are really big, more like goose eggs than ducks. You can see how big the yolk is on the top egg.
On the right you can see a chicken egg and on the bottom there’s an Ancona duck egg. They’re all delicious, but I will eat choose duck eggs over chicken eggs if you have them. I still haven’t eaten the turkey egg from Sunday, perhaps I’ll crack that open later this morning. I find that the different types of eggs can taste a little different and sometimes you can tell the difference between eggs from different birds.
Have you ever eaten duck/goose/turkey eggs?
Filed under Cooking, Feathered & Furred | Comments (10)