Wednesday, October 8, 2014

The last of the crop and quick veggie freezer pockets.

Pin It

We've been having an unusually warm week for almost mid October. It was 78 degrees today! After a very wet September and a pretty cold first week of this month, it's an unexpected and pleasant surprise!

I've been picking the last few offerings of the summer crop. I didn't spend nearly enough time in the garden this year but we were still blessed with an abundance. That's what we got last week:

 photo IMG_1481-1_zps52d2fe8f.jpg

Look at this Japanese cucumber!! It's bigger than the zucchinis! Good thing, everybody in our family loves the cukes :)

And since it was 39F last week, I also picked all of the rest of the green tomatoes (some of them cracked from all the September moisture):

 photo IMG_1483-1_zps04ccad25.jpg

As you can see, many of them have already turned red. I do it every year before the frost and let them slowly turn red at home. Last fall we had enough homegrown tomatoes to last us until mid-December. Won't happen this year but we should have enough for the next couple of weeks. And they taste so much better than the store-bought.

And since I'm on a freezing gig right now, I thought I would share with you something that my Grandma taught me to make many-many moons ago - quick veggie freezer pockets. I still remember her chopping their garden veggies in front of the open window every September...

 photo IMG_1490_zps304c45a0.jpg

I used peppers and tomatoes from our garden. I like to use roma tomatoes because they are a little more meaty. I just chop everything but carrots. I like them grated better. Or, and I forgot to add an onion to the picture but, of course, I also chop about a half or a whole onion to the mix:

 photo IMG_1491_zpsdca7573a.jpg

Then mix together and separate into 1 cup each. I like to wrap each cup into plastic wrap before putting it in the freezer for easy usage. These pockets can be added to soups, crock pot meals, when you make pasta sauce and in many other meals. So easy and practical! Don't even need to be defrosted. Just unwrap and use. They will last for a couple of months in the freezer.

 photo IMG_1495_zps481fe1eb.jpg

14 comments:

  1. You are getting some good hot weather veggies for this late in the year. Enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, right? Cucumbers in October??? They are from my green house though (it more than paid for itself). All the vines are yellow and dry already but they are still producing :)

      Delete
  2. I love this idea and will do this with left over bits in the fridge. Thanks for sharing this idea.
    Carolx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great idea :) We are going to pull carrots today, to dehydrate as the freezer won't hold anything else :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great idea for using up those bits and pieces from the garden or the produce drawer in the fridge too. 8-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's a really good haul. And what a great idea. Looks delicious as is!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yes it saves a lot of time when cooking and also less waste of the vegies we grow to freeze them in small packets ready to pull out and use. Fried rice, omelettes and stews, so many uses. I still have chopped up celery and capsicum in freezer from last summer to use.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That's a really great idea learned at your Grandma's elbow! I love how these traditions carry on.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your veggies look gorgeous, and delicious, too! Great job :)
    Susan

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a fabulous idea! :) We're actually supposed to hit 21c here today!! Thunderstorms along with that, but all the same, warmth! lol!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Everything looks lovely...and scrumptious! Thank you so much for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a wonderful memory of your grandma! Thank you for sharing that.
    I didn't have much luck in the garden this year, oh well, there is always next year.
    And its so so cold here on the IL/WI border, I'm jealous of anyone that has weather in the 60s!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...