Harvest Monday Freezer Fiesta

Sadly, we've still got snow on the ground and the cold frame hasn't unthawed.  I'm waiting for a nice thaw to go for the parsnips - but at least enough snow has melted that I can see their tops poking out.  The kale is still buried as well.  I'm definitely looking forward to our hoop house!  Tonight it was back to the freezer for me...

I whipped up a stir-fry to cleanse a bit after the holidays.  It is enormous, and will give me lunches for most of the week.  The green beans and broccoli and New Zealand spinach were delicious, sauteed with some garlic, ginger juice and an onion.  We added fermented soybeans (whole) and a bit of soy sauce as well.  I don't love ginger bits in my food, so made a juice about a month back that still tastes great.  I think I've found a way to add ginger flavor without having to pick strong ginger bits from my teeth.  I just boil the ginger for 30 minutes or so on the wood stove and then strain it.  A tablespoon in chai tea or stir-fries adds nice depth without overpowering the dish.

The Waltham butternuts are delicious this year - sweet and crunchy, good enough to eat raw.  Which is wonderful, because we have so many.  They are resistant to the borers and escaped the cucumber beetle so they are the main squash we have in storage.  We have almost no buttercups and only 4-5 acorns, but the spagettis did fairly well too.  I think 4 of them are larger than 3 pounds and the others closer to 2 pounds.  I roasted the seeds from this one to snack on.  More fibrous than pumpkin, but tasty and a satisfying snack while I cook.  I realized yesterday that the garage is just too cold at around 45 degrees and I've been worried about reducing their shelf life.  After the last few weeks of procrastination I finally brought all the squashes from the garage up to the cold bedroom closet where they'll be closer to their proper range of 50-60 degrees F.  We have two full boxes remaining.  They are snuggled in between towels but they did look better down in the garage where we stored them in an old bureau... which was much easier to access and choose from.

A few of the 'edible rape' stalks were pretty stringy, but the broccoli more than compensated.  I bought a few seed packets in Chinatown and wasn't particularly pleased with them.  I waited for rape and 'chinese kale' to bulk up but I think the hot weather coupled with the drought (repair to our community garden's water line) inhibited lush growth.

The piece de resistance - yummy peach cobbler.  What is easier than opening up a bag of frozen peaches, crumbling some flour, butter, brown sugar and oats, and baking for 30 minutes? Don't forget to check out Harvest Monday at Daphne's Dandelions.