FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: Beth on August 07, 2008, 01:31:58 PM
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Hey guys.
So I'm looking at a gigantic pile of peppers and cucumbers that's sitting in the middle of my kitchen right now. Our garden has been more than generous, but we can't eat all these veggies, so we're going to start freezing them for winter. It's our first time with a garden, and the books we have on gardening are great but a little outdated. Does anyone have experience with freezing/canning? What's the best way to go about it?
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The cucumbers definitely won't freeze. You'll have to pickle them, or make some relish. We have a book from Bernardin (jar manufacturers) that is pretty good. They tend to err on the "better safe than sorry" side of food safety issues. Older cookbooks (Fannie Farmer, etc.) are a little more easy-going. But read a book. You'll want to do it right - you don't want botulism.
Canning seems kind of daunting, but it's not really very difficult. You just need a big pot and a few (relatively inexpensive) accessories. And holy cow, you'll feel so rustic!
For the peppers: wash, seed and slice the peppers, spread them on a baking sheet, and freeze them. When they're frozen, transfer them to a ziploc bag. They'll last a few months like that. Also, you could pickle them, or add them to the relish you make with your cukes. You could also try drying some of them. No guarantee that it'll work, but I've done it with small chilies. Put a thread through the stem and hang them until dry - simple!
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You can also roast the peppers and store them in olive oil in sealed jars.
(and mail some to me)
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(and mail some to me)
That could actually wind up happening---who knows? Our freezer and cabinets can only hold so much. This is like our 3rd load of veggies, and there's still way more. Here's what we brought inside today:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v687/girlpantsx/IMG_1755.jpg)
PS Thanks for the advice, Bryan!
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those are seriously gorgeous-looking peppers
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This is another yummy thing to do with hot peppers:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1836,158161-239203,00.html
A certain secret santa of mine sent me something similar and it was delicious!
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That's a fantastic looking haul. We've had a cool, rainy summer so far. I'm worried my tomatoes and peppers are going to be crummy.
After seeing your peppers, I don't know if drying would work. For some reason my experiments worked with red peppers/chilies but not green ones. If you do try it, let me know how it works!
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Our tomatoes are just starting to turn red, but it's looking okay so far. We're in upstate NY, and we've had similar weather, Bryan.
I'll do a drying test run with a few spicy peppers and see if it works and let you know.
Thanks for the recipe, Erika! I'm making a pint of relish right now.
EDIT: OMG I made it and really loved it! I had it on a tofu pup and it was delicious, but I swear I could eat this stuff right out of the mason jar. MMMMMM!!!
I also dug up some potatoes this afternoon and cooked those up. I've been cooking up a storm and finding lots of recipes lately because of all these veggies. I usually don't cook, but I've been loving this, and everything is turning out really well. Tim (my boyfriend) is still in shock from my sudden turn to domesticity, I think.