preserving

How to Freeze Blueberries

Ever wondered how to freeze blueberries successfully? Frozen blueberries are versatile, delicious, and easy to grab and use at a moment’s notice, so stay tuned for how to freeze blueberries quickly and easily.

Blueberries, naturally attractive

Did you know that blueberries are the only blue food? Natural blue food that is. There are certainly plenty of artificially colored blue items out there, and when given the choice, my kids always lean toward anything blue. Gatorade, freezer pops, and ice cream… it baffles the mind! But according to research, people are drawn toward brightly colored food. I just wish it was always brightly colored REAL food. I digress…

Are blueberries really blue?

In truth, even blueberries aren’t actually blue. They’re dark purple! True story. Blueberries contain a pigment called anthocyanin, which is what gives them their purple/blue color. The darker the berry, the more anthocyanin is present, and the sweeter the taste.

The Healthy Fruit

While fruit is across the board considered healthy, blueberries in particular are always a great choice. They are naturally high in antioxidants, and in comparison to other fruits, they are low in sugar. In fact, berries in general are low in sugar, making them a fantastic choice for those who may be diabetic or on a low-carbohydrate diet. Blueberries have the most sugar of all berries, but the sugar content is still much lower than other types of fruit.

Blueberries also contain around 4g of fiber per cup. This is the same amount of fiber found in a cup of collard greens, and I’d rather eat blueberries (no prep and easy to grab)! These are all great reasons to stock up on blueberries when they’re in season. Or better yet, a great reason to plant blueberry bushes in your yard! They can easily be incorporated into your landscape.

How to Freeze Blueberries

Begin with “dirty” (unwashed) blueberries. Pick off as many stems as you can because this will pay off in the long run. Spread out unwashed blueberries on a sheet pan in a single layer.
Place sheet pan in freezer, and leave for at least six hours. I usually end up forgetting and sometimes leave them for several days… they’ve ended up just fine! Either way, you want the blueberries frozen through.
Once the blueberries are frozen, take them out of the freezer, and use a scoop to place them in freezer bags or containers. I have used both in the past. Freezer bags are nice, because they lay flat, and don’t take up much space. Containers are easy if you’re planning to use a few at a time. My kids like to eat rinsed, semi-frozen berries with lunch. So the containers make it easy to take off the lid, pour a few into a strainer and close them back up.
To use your frozen berries, simply remove them from the freezer, rinse with lukewarm water in a mesh strainer or colander, and you’re good to go!

Frozen blueberries are perfect for muffins, smoothies, and of course, blueberry pie (see the recipe in the link)! I’d love to know if you’re preserved blueberries this way, and if you had a great blueberry harvest this year! Have a great week and happy gardening!

by Courtney 5 Comments

How to Freeze Fresh Okra

Not sure how to freeze okra? No worries, I’ve got you covered!

Okra, the jewel of the southern garden, can get a bad rap for being… well, slimy. You’ll find that most people are either okra lovers or haters, and thankfully most of my family is in the lover category. (Particularly if said vegetable is fried, ahem.) If you’ve ever grown okra in the garden, then you know that once it starts coming in, it can be difficult to eat it all. Once you begin to harvest okra (check out my post here on when to harvest) you have a few days to use it before it starts turning brown and soft in spots. Learning how to freeze okra for use later is easy as pie thanks to my granny.

Granny imparted her okra-preserving wisdom on me for this “recipe.” She doesn’t keep track of oven temperatures or how many minutes it should be in there, so there was a bit of testing on my end. But the result was non-slimy okra ready to go in the freezer in 15 minutes from start to finish. Voila! So if you’re having a busy week, and unable to cook okra before it goes bad, here’s an easy way to know how to freeze okra for use later.

How to Freeze Okra

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash your tender okra pods in cool water and drain in a colander. Once relatively dry, move them to a cutting board, and decide how you’d like to cut them.
Cut okra and place on rimmed baking sheet. I like to cut mine into 1/2 inch pieces for easy use in smoothies and soups. (If you’ve never had frozen okra in a smoothie, you’re totally missing out. The Trim Healthy Mama book introduced me to this.)
Place baking sheet in preheated oven for 3-4 minutes. You just want the okra pieces warmed through, not cooked.
Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. The moisture that was on the okra has dried a bit after the short time in the oven, and once cool, they are ready for the freezer.
Place cooled okra in labeled freezer bags, and use throughout the fall and winter as needed!

Options:

If you prefer fried okra (or “oven fried”) then you can go ahead and coat your cooled okra in cornmeal before putting it in the freezer bags.
For freezing whole pods, cut off the tops and warm the pods in the oven. Then freeze as usual.

These freezing instructions are great for those growing okra in your home gardens. But it also is perfect if you happen to grab some fresh okra from your local farmer’s market. Fresh is fresh, and buying local veggies in season is always better than shipped-from-who-knows-where out of season. So buy up (or pick) that okra now and “put it up” (as we southerners say) for use later.

I’d love to know what your favorite okra dish is. Comment below and let me know, because I’m always looking for news ways to use this super vegetable!

Here’s my recipe for Oven Roasted Okra, and a guide for How to Harvest Okra.

by Courtney Leave a Comment

How to Freeze Fresh Green Beans

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Freezing fresh green beans is the quickest and easiest way to put aside some of your summer harvest for later. Whether you have rows and rows of slender beans or teepees full to the top with bright green goodness, you may need a way to preserve them. In our kitchen garden this year, we have two teepees full of Kentucky Blue Pole Beans leftover from last year’s seeds. (If you’re ever unsure about whether last year’s seeds are still good, try this quick test.)

My Granny always canned her green beans, and they were a treat straight from the jar, cold. True story. But canning takes time that I don’t usually have, so freezing saves time an space on my pantry shelves. If you’re growing beans, even in a small kitchen garden, then you know beans grow quickly. This means I may be able to freeze a quart bag a week, while still having them for dinner one night. That’s not too shabby for only using half of a 4×4 raised bed for growing beans.

And for those non-gardeners out there, this method also works for those grocery store or farmer’s market beans that just didn’t get used. Sometimes we have great intentions for dinner that just don’t pan out. You can easily freeze them and save them for later!

Harvesting Green Beans

I love to have the little gardeners help with harvesting green beans. They can’t reach the top of the teepees, but they can certainly cover most of the bottom. In fact, last week I sent Girly Gardener out with our Dollar Store Garden Basket and told her to bring in beans for dinner. She loved helping out, and I was thrilled at being able to continue working on the rest of dinner.

Try to pick your beans when they’re still a bit tender, and not overly large and tough. I have a whole post on how to harvest beans, so check it out! Now on to the instructions!

How to Freeze Green Beans

Pick your beans from the garden (or the Farmer’s Market), and wash them in a colander. Take beans one or two at a time out of the colander and snap off the ends. If a bean is particularly long, then go ahead and snap it in half.
Bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove. I added a pinch of salt to mine, but that is completely optional. While the water is warming up, grab a large bowl and fill halfway with ice, then add enough water to cover the ice. Once the pot is at a rolling boil, add in snapped beans.
Set a timer for 3 minutes. As soon as the timer goes off, remove pot from heat. Quickly drain beans, and dump them in your ice water bath. This stops the cooking process. Your beans will be a beautiful bright green color, just from the few minutes in the pot.
Allow the beans to sit in the ice water for 5 minutes, or until cooled. Then drain beans and place on a clean kitchen cloth to dry a little before freezing.
The beans do not have to be “dry,” but I let them sit for ten minutes or so, usually while i’m doing something else. Then label and date quart-sized freezer bags and fill them with your blanched beans. Place bags in the freezer, and use whenever needed as a side dish or as an add in for those winter vegetable soups!

And that’s all there is to it to put some fresh green beans away for using later. From snapping to bagging, this may take 20 minutes, which is a far shorter time than canning. You can even put those snapped ends out in the compost pile or feed them to your chickens! You’ll feel like a homesteader with all of this resourcefulness! Have a great week and happy gardening!

by Courtney Leave a Comment

Easy Hot Pepper Vinegar

If you’ve ever visited or lived in the South, then chances are you’ve seen (and hopefully tasted) hot pepper vinegar. It’s the condiment of choice for any type of cooked green, field peas, acre peas… the list goes on. The super fabulous thing about hot pepper vinegar is that it’s more than just a condiment!

Is so easy to make; any greenhorn cook can do it!
It’s beautiful, so it’s a natural DIY gift.

Now, while peppers and vinegar may not sound all that exciting, wait until you taste it. And you will have to wait, because after preparing the vinegar, you’ll need to give it some sit time in your pantry for a few weeks for the flavors to develop. But trust me, much like wine and your wedding day, it’s worth the wait.

Our garden’s pepper plants went the distance this year and survived from May to December, so with this last bowlful, I decided to restore our pepper vinegar stash.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Two handfuls of hot peppers (very accurate, I know)

White vinegar

Whole garlic cloves (optional)

Empty, clear jar with lid (I like to use leftover maple syrup jars)

Small funnel

Directions: Wash off peppers and gently slice the tops off–this will expose the seeds and membrane to the vinegar, and that’s where the heat is. While you’re slicing, place vinegar in a small pot on the stove over medium high heat. The amount of vinegar you need depends on how big of a jar you’re using. Pack your jar full of the peppers; when you don’t think you can cram another pepper in, add two more or add in a few peeled, whole garlic cloves. This will give your pepper vinegar an extra pop.

Once your vinegar has reached a slow boil, use your funnel and fill your jar almost to the top. (You do want all of the peppers to be covered by the vinegar.)

Let the jar cool, then screw on lid and place in a cool, dark place for several weeks (a pantry or cabinet is perfect). The vinegar should keep in your cabinet for months, or until you use it all and make more. Enjoy!

preserving

How to Freeze Blueberries

Blueberries, naturally attractive

Are blueberries really blue?

The Healthy Fruit

How to Freeze Blueberries

Like this:

How to Freeze Fresh Okra

How to Freeze Okra

Options:

Like this:

How to Freeze Fresh Green Beans

Harvesting Green Beans

How to Freeze Green Beans

Like this:

Easy Hot Pepper Vinegar

Like this:

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