Freezer Space

The last two days have been spent in my garden and kitchen.  From carrots to zucchini, I've picked, processed, baked, and frozen much of the current harvest.

Herbs were chopped, mixed with olive oil, spooned into ice cube trays until they were frozen, and then popped into freezer bags so I can add them to soups and stews after the now lush plants have died away.  Beans were cut up, blanched, and put into freezer bags for Fall and Winter dinners.  Zucchini was shredded, shared, and what was left over was made into several mini loaves of zucchini-banana bread. 

Carrots were processed and made into the best carrot cake I've ever had.  Once the cream cheese frosting was spread, Riley and I drove down to my parents while it was still warm and shared it together.  The remainder of the bunch will be made into carrot cake pancakes tomorrow morning, after we take advantage of the day off and sleep in a little.

Tomatoes were crushed for pizza sauce, onions were diced and frozen for future use, and cucumbers were delivered to my dad so that he can make another batch of refrigerator pickles; it really is his specialty.

There is a pile of recipes and pictures to be blogged about, and after I enjoy one more day of summer fishing with the family I promise to share them with you.  My copy of the newly released, "The Earthbound Cook" by Myra Goodman is on it's way, and I can't wait to try some new recipes from it with the continued harvest from my garden before the first frost hits.  If you would like to preview the book, check out the Amazon cookbook section to the left of this post, and click on the cookbook.

Enjoy your Labor Day with food, friends, and family!