I can haz break naow?

[catspaw]

Dear Mother Nature/Higher Power/Whom It May Concern,

It's NOT that I don't appreciate your Bounty. I seriously do. I love having a ready supply of fresh, organic veg. But...



do they really all have to come at once regardless of sowing times? I'm drowning under a mountain of mixed metaphors produce here...

I love cauliflower, I really do. Here's a cauliflower:



It's the size of a soccer ball.

I have six of them sitting in my kitchen, waiting to get bagged up and frozen.

I'm also dealing with the Euro mountain of peas, broad beans, carrots, lettuce (what the hell is here to do with lettuce?), strawberries and courgettes (zucchini).

And I'm balefully eying up the raspberries, broccoli, syboes (spring onions, scallions), early onions (red and white) that won't keep that well, cabbage and salad potatoes.

And please don't get me started on the plums...

::sigh:: Summer has its drawbacks.

And the weather's shite too :-(

Comments

[emgeetrek.livejournal.com]

What a beautiful cauliflower! That pic is food porn; it's got me panting! I'm jealous; in my neck of the woods we don't see cauliflower that good-looking even at the farmers' market. (And the cost, oh, the cost. I tried shopping the farmers' market last year, because I believe in buying local produce when possible. I expected to pay a little more than at the supermarket. In reality, the prices were a LOT higher. Obviously, the best way is to grow it oneself, like you've done--however, I live in a rental space and have no garden. But I digress.)

And I'm giggling about the zucchini. They're just too darned prolific, and they grow too darned fast. Today, the size of cucumbers (I was actually going to write something much cruder *g*); tomorrow, baseball bats. You probably know the trick of coarse grating and freezing in zucchini-bread-recipe sized portions. Yummy quick breads all winter long!

[catspaw-sgjd.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, The Man gives good cauliflower ::grin:: But farmers' markets? Obviously there as here - overpriced really, trading on your willingness to buy local :-( They'll eventually do themselves out of any business at all, I think. But there's me digressing too... ;-)

Crudity (or crudite? *g*) is good for vegetables! It's what they were made for *g*

Yes, I've done the grated zucchini thing: and also lived to pull a bag (or several bags) of mush out of the back of the freezer and think to myself 'TF?? I know I kept this for something - but what, exactly?' LOL

But growing your own is good, if you can manage it, and can cope with the gluts that always happen. Every year at this time I moan about the gluts, I'm a creature of habit!

[babs-sg1.livejournal.com]

I have a very good recipe for pickles using zucchini. They are kept in the fridge and keep for up to 3 months in the fridge. So far we've never had any last that long! I also have a recipe for freezer pickles. Let me know if you're interested. Both recipes are very easy to make.

[catspaw-sgjd.livejournal.com]

Oh yes please! To both! Anything at all that uses up the zucchini is a Good Thing :-)

[babs-sg1.livejournal.com]

Summer Squash Ice Box Pickles:

7 cups thinly sliced zucchini, summer squash or combo
1 cup thinly sliced onion
1 cup grated carrot
1 green pepper finely chopped
1 cup cider vinegar (apple cider vinegar)
2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon pickling salt
1 Tablespoon dill seed

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. Refrigerate overnight.

Pack the vegetables tightly into quart jars (or whatever size you have). Cover with the brine. Refrigerate. They will keep up to 3 months.


Freezer Pickles

8 cups sliced cucumbers or combo with zucchini
2 medium onions sliced thinly
2 Tablespoons pickling salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon celery seeds

Put cucumbers and onions in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Allow to stand at least 3 hours. Rinse the vegetables thoroughly with cold tap water, and drain. Meanwhile mix the other ingredients.

Pour brine over vegetables. Mix and cover. Refrigerate overnight.

Pack the pickles in straight-sided containers. Cover with brine. Seal and freeze. Defrost in the refrigerate for 8 hours before serving.

[catspaw-sgjd.livejournal.com]

Brilliant, thank you :-))) :scuttles off to 'save'::

I'll definitely try these tomorrow ::eyes the three zucchini sitting in the kitchen right now:: - I'll let you know how I get on!

One thing though - I'm not used to working in cups. Do the cups have to be packed tightly, or just roughly as the bits of whatever get scooped up into them?

[babs-sg1.livejournal.com]

I don't actually measure the cups out myself. I just fill the large bowl with them. If you do measure, I'd just scoop it up.

[catspaw-sgjd.livejournal.com]

Scoop up, check. I can do that. :-)

I think this is going to be tomorrow's project.