Times of plenty and starvation dominates Nature's cycles - where spring brings new life, summer marks a time of abundance, autumn starts winding down and the winter months are nearly barren...
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| End of season butternut harvest ready for winter storage |
So too does the vegetable garden flux between these two extremes - in summer we are overloaded with produce especially of the tomato and zucchini kind. Tomatoes are easy enough to deal with, but the zucchinis are a proper challenge! Here I am going to post a few recipes and methods for preserving summer bounty for the winter lean months. We have tried a few methods and recipes and these represent some of our favourites. Most of these methods are electricity efficient (as far as possible!) and therefore does not include bottling or canning methods unfortunately.
Please Note: To prevent any plagiarism of recipes I have provided links directly to the source for several of the recipes below.
Let's start off with the two biggest culprits: Tomatoes and Zucchinis
Tomatoes
Main preserving methods include;
Sauce
Jams
Drying (Freezing)
Tomato Sauce:
This is by far the easiest method and works wonders for stew additions as well as pasta sauces. This recipe is from
Pick 'n' Pay Fresh Living Magazine, August 2012.
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| Frozen tomato sauce |
As in Magazine:
"
Tomato treats
Take one pot of Italian-style tomato sauce, freeze it in batches, and amaze your family with flavour-packed meals at the drop of a hat - it's easy on the wallet, too!
Recipes and styling: Jules Mercer, Photos: Dawie Verwey
Under R30
Ultimate Tomato Sauce
Form the base for all the following dishes.
4kg tomatoes, halved
2 Tbsp (30 ml) olive oil, plus extra for frying
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
3tsp (15 ml) sugar
2 garlic heads, halved
2 onions, finely chopped
Bunch each fresh basil, thyme and oreganum
3 Tbsp (45 ml) red wine vinegar
Salt and milled pepper
Makes 3 Litres
Preheat oven to 200
oC (392
oF). Arrange tomatoes on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and 1 tsp (5ml) sugar. Roast for 30 minutes. Add garlic and cook for further 20 minutes. Fry onions in a pan with a glug of olive oil. Add roast tomatoes, garlic cloves (squeezed out of their skins), herbs, remaining sugar, vinegar and seasoning. Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Divide into three 1-litre freezer bags and freeze until needed."
Tomato Jam:
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| Homemade tomato jam |
Very easy and delicious stuff. Pulverise large tomatoes and strain excess water through a sieve, alternatively you can halve mini tomatoes, but cooking time need to be extended to remove excess water. Then add equal amounts of sugar and tomatoes (cups or grams) to a pot and boil off excess water until the mixture sets. Add jam to containers and seal. These will be safe to consume as long a no mould has spoiled the contents.
[
Sterilise glass jars: Lids are sterilised by boiling for 2 minutes and left in the hot water until contents are added to jars. Jars are sterilised by adding 50 ml of water inside and microwaving on high power for 3 minutes. The jars are placed upside down on a paper towel to dry and contents are added to jars when both are still hot. Seal, let cool and store.]
Drying (Freezing) Tomatoes:
The main recipe is from:
Local Foods Expert, Molly Watson, Oven Dried Tomatoes
A few notes:
200
oF = 93
oC
After step 4 you can dip the tomatoes in red wine vinegar, let them dry and pack into containers.
In the fridge the tomatoes should last about two weeks, without oil. They will last a bit longer when stored under oil given that the oil is topped up to keep the tomatoes covered. If the oil becomes murky or smells off then dispose both the oil and tomatoes. Tomatoes can be stored with and without oil in the freezer and should keep for at least 6 months.
[
Sterilise glass jars: Lids are sterilised by boiling for 2 minutes and left in the hot water until contents are added to jars. Jars are sterilised by adding 50 ml of water inside and microwaving on high power for 3 minutes. The jars are placed upside down on a paper towel to dry and contents are added to jars when both are still hot. Seal, let cool and store.]
Zucchinis
Main Preserving methods include;
Cake
Bread
Zucchinis are a problem as they become absolutely sloppy when frozen and we do not enjoy any pickled or vinegar based preserving methods. Therefore the only way for us to deal with them is by making cake - it sounds a bit strange but the following recipes are delicious and you can freeze the cake in portions to eat at a later stage!
Chocolate Zucchini Cake:
Spiced Zucchini Cake:
This is a modified carrot cake recipe, where the grated carrots have been replaced with grated zucchini and it is fantastic! Again portions can be frozen away and will keep for a few months.
Original reference: Lynn Bedford Hall, Best of Cooking in South Africa, Struik Publishers, 1993.
"3 eggs
375 ml sugar
250 ml oil
250 ml each white flour and brown flour
5 ml bicarbonate of soda
10 ml baking powder
7 ml ground cinnamon
5 ml ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
4 medium zucchinis grated
250 ml seedless raisins (or cranberries)
125 ml walnuts (or almonds)
Beat eggs and sugar until pale, then beat in oil. Sift dry ingredients and add. Mix well, then add zucchinis, cranberries and almonds. Line base with 18 x 18 cm square tin with greaseproof paper and oil lightly. Pour in cake mixture, which will be thickish and tacky. Spread evenly, and make a small depression in the centre. Bake at 160oC (320oF) for 1 hour 15 minutes or until firm and brown. Stand for 5 minutes before turning out onto cake rack. Cut into squares and serve."
Root Vegetables: Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes
Main preserving methods include,
Soups
Dark container storage
Soups:
You can add other vegetables to these or combine with the pumpkins for an easy freezable storage solution. Simply cut the sweet potatoes and potatoes into large pieces then steam or boil until cooked. You add them to a pot with water and other spices/amendments then later pulverise to preferred thickness and serve. Soups are easily frozen away to quickly re-heat on cold winter nights. Soups will keep for at least 6 months.
Dark container storage:
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| Potatoes and sweet potatoes in packing peanuts |
This is the preferred method as you do not use up freezer space. We get a constant influx of packing peanuts due to business packages and decided to put them to good use for root veg storage. This method is generally used with clean, damp river sand, but the peanuts work a charm! Clean you potatoes with soapy water and dry. Get some boxes and add layers of alternating potatoes/sweet potatoes and packing peanuts. Make sure the individual vegetables do not touch one another as this limits spoilage. Store in the coldest room of the house in a dark place. They will keep for the whole winter like this, but check on them weekly to ensure no rotting members will spoil the whole harvest.
Peppers: Bells and Paprikas
Main preserving methods include,
Frozen
Drying (Freezing)
Freezing Peppers: Roasted
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| Roasted peppers (capsicums) in oil |
This calls for an open flame as you want to roast the peppers at a very high heat. Roast peppers until their skins are completely black then stuff the hot peppers into a plastic bag. This will make them sweat so that you can peel off their skins and scrape out most of the seeds. After which you can dip them into red wine vinegar, let them dry and store in a glass jar. You add oil to the peppers until covered and they will store in the fridge for at least 2 weeks, whereas freezer storage will allow them to keep for at least six months. If the oil becomes murky or smells off then dispose both the oil and peppers. Please note that the roasting of paprikas leads to an increase in hotness and they will have quite a bite to them.
[Sterilise glass jars: Lids are sterilised by boiling for 2 minutes and left in the hot water until contents are added to jars. Jars are sterilised by adding 50 ml of water inside and microwaving on high power for 3 minutes. The jars are placed upside down on a paper towel to dry and contents are added to jars when both are still hot. Seal, let cool and store.]
Drying (Freezing) Peppers:
A few notes:
200oF = 93oC
After step 4 you can dip the tomatoes in red wine vinegar, let them dry and pack into containers.
In the fridge the peppers should last about two weeks, without oil. They will last a bit longer when stored under oil given that the oil is topped up to keep the peppers covered. If the oil becomes murky or smells off then dispose both the oil and peppers. Peppers can be stored with and without oil in the freezer and should keep for at least 6 months.
 |
| Air dry peppers (capsicums) |
Alternatively you can simply string the pepper/paprikas up by their stems in a warm, dry area and let them dry naturally. These can be stored as is in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Pumpkins & Winter Squash
Main preserving methods include,
Dark cupboard storage
Soups
Frozen
No-bake cookies
Dark cupboard storage:
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| Butternuts in packing peanuts |
You can follow the exact sample method as the potato/sweet potato storage for pumpkins and butternuts. This is the preferred method as you do not use up freezer space. We get a constant influx of packing peanuts due to business packages and decided to put them to good use for squash/pumpkin storage. After harvesting your pumpkins leave them in the sun for a week to harden off the skin (some squash require this treatment too, please see my
How to Grow Post for a complete guide). Clean your pumpkins/squash with soapy water and dry. Get some boxes and add layers of alternating squash and packing peanuts. Make sure the individual fruits do not touch one another as this limits spoilage. Store in the coldest room of the house in a dark place. They will keep for the whole winter like this, but check on them weekly to ensure no rotting members will spoil the whole harvest.
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| Squash and Pumpkin dark storage |
Another storage option doesn't require packing peanuts and cleaned pumpkins/squash can be stored as is in a dark cold cupboard. Make sure the individual fruits do not touch one another as this limits spoilage. Pumpkins and squash are susceptible to mould and surface skin problems during storage - so check on them weekly. If a fruit has a skin conditions (poor fella!) then remove from storage and consume - they are completely safe to eat as the skin problem is only on the surface and doesn't affect the quality of the flesh.
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Butternut storage problem,
suspected fungal growth |
Soups:
Very simple way of turning excess pumpkins into easily freezable storage. Simply cut the pumpkins into large pieces then steam or boil until cooked. You add them to a pot with water and other spices/amendments then later pulverise to preferred thickness and serve. Soups are easily frozen away to quickly re-heat on cold winter nights. Soups will keep for at least 6 months.
Frozen: Cubes
This is very straight forward, just cube the pumpkins, pack into bags and store in the freezer. No blanching required as this only leads to soggy pumpkins. They will keep for at least 6 months.
No-bake cookies:
o0o
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| End of season large potato harvest |
Considering that the seasons are changing now (April) and the summer vegetables are ready for harvesting means that it is an excellent time to do some winter preparations and get all the excess into storage in order to enjoy the summer bounty during winter as well.
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