Free Food!
The harvest season is starting to wind down, but it's not gone yet. We happened to plant late season tomatoes, so they are finally ripening! I am actually being overwhelmed with free produce this week. I have a box of pears in the fridge from Marjorie waiting to ripen so they can be canned. A couple from church brought us corn, zucchini, bell peppers, cucumbers, celery, cauliflower, and squash. My own tomato plants are producing 200 or more ripe tomatoes a week! And that is off of only 3 plants! So it looks like canning and processing is in the near future for me. I am holding off a couple more days on tomatoes until the weekend, then I will can diced tomato for use in homemade chili over the winter. Today, during the kids nap, I washed and chopped up all the celery. There was enough for 3 potato soups, so I added the onion and put it into 3 gallon size freezer bags. Then I started on the bell peppers. I have 2 quart size bags in the freezer now with about 15 peppers left still. I ran out of steam so the soup bags aren't done yet. I still need to add potato, ham, and spices to the soup bags. If I add onion to the bell pepper bags, then they are ready to be added to a can of tomato and some beans for chili. I still have several HUGE zucchini's on my washing machine. I need to grate those for zucchini bread. I'm not sure how much I will bake now. I will freeze some as grated zucchini, and some will be made into bread and frozen as bread...I'm trying to hold out for colder weather though before using the oven.
I think I am addicted....to good deals on fresh, local food. Even with all this on my counters and in the freezer, I find myself back on Craigs list...strangely drawn to the u-pick grapes add for 50 cents a lb, and apples are ripe now too...
I should just let it be though...at least until pumpkins are ripe! My attempt at canning pumpkin last year didn't turn out so well, so this year, I think I will be cooking, pureeing, and freezing pumpkin instead of canning. I can't wait for pumpkin spice muffins, and pumpkin chocolate chip bread, maybe some pumpkin rolls, and of course, pumpkin pie.
Oh, for those who like a good deal and live local, on the afternoon / evening of October 31st (Halloween) Winco marks any leftover pumpkins they have down to FREE! That's where we get ours for the year.
As we enter Thad's off season for work, I now sit back and look at the pantry and freezer and can't help thinking...did I do enough? I try to have enough to last us a good bit of the winter without having to buy frozen or canned produce.
I think I am addicted....to good deals on fresh, local food. Even with all this on my counters and in the freezer, I find myself back on Craigs list...strangely drawn to the u-pick grapes add for 50 cents a lb, and apples are ripe now too...
I should just let it be though...at least until pumpkins are ripe! My attempt at canning pumpkin last year didn't turn out so well, so this year, I think I will be cooking, pureeing, and freezing pumpkin instead of canning. I can't wait for pumpkin spice muffins, and pumpkin chocolate chip bread, maybe some pumpkin rolls, and of course, pumpkin pie.
Oh, for those who like a good deal and live local, on the afternoon / evening of October 31st (Halloween) Winco marks any leftover pumpkins they have down to FREE! That's where we get ours for the year.
As we enter Thad's off season for work, I now sit back and look at the pantry and freezer and can't help thinking...did I do enough? I try to have enough to last us a good bit of the winter without having to buy frozen or canned produce.
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