Preserving Archives | The Sparrow's Home

Dehydrated Carrots: Save Time & Money

November 22, 2016 by Susan

The thing about fresh produce is that it grows when it grows and then it grows no more. What that means is that when you get an abundance of apples or tomatoes or carrots, you need to figure out what to do with your stash, or it will spoil. Carrots last a pretty long time, but even so, they get soft and bendy after awhile.

I made a delicious creamy chicken and rice soup this weekend. It was my first time cooking with the carrots I had dehydrated this summer. We belong to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and get boxes of freshly picked vegetables each week. When the farm has an abundance, so do we. And this summer, we got piles of carrots!

The Lazy Person’s Guide to Canning Tomatoes

August 30, 2016 by Susan

I admire people who put up summer produce by the bushel, stocking their pantry shelves with row upon row of the good stuff. I’ve tried that. My dad does pickles and relish each summer, and I’ve helped out. One time I did get a giant box of tomatoes and canned spaghetti sauce myself. It was delicious and wonderful, but it was an awful lot of work and mess for the amount I got.

I wouldn’t rule out doing a mega canning session again but it’s not really my style.

Here’s my style: I take out my canning pot mid-August and leave it in my kitchen until mid-October. I can two or three or six jars of excess produce as I have it. It’s the same with freezing. As I have extra peppers or corn or whatever, I fill Ziploc bags and stash them in the freezer.

Cheesy, Grilled, Stuffed Jalapenos and Other Spicy Solutions

August 15, 2016 by Susan

We are a drop site for the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program that we belong to. It’s wonderful, because all summer and autumn long we get a box of produce, just picked that day, delivered to our doorstep. Have you had corn that was just picked? What about melon? I’m pretty sure the cantaloupe that we got last week was the best melon I’ve ever eaten.

Another perk, which doesn’t happen very often, is that if someone else doesn’t pick up their box, we get to keep it!

That happened last week. Double the tomatoes, double the carrots…and double the jalapenos.

How to Preserve Basil

August 8, 2016 by Susan

There’s nothing like walking out onto your deck and picking fresh basil to add to a recipe. But sadly, for much of the year in Minnesota, that is not an option.

I am a terrible gardener, but I’ve always been successful with basil. It grows gangbusters for me, for some reason.

Several years ago, I looked into various ways to preserve my harvest. To maintain freshness, I decided against drying. I found a number of different methods of freezing herbs. Some involved water as a base, some oil. I tried both methods and have settled into what I like best. Olive oil.

This is such an easy process, y’all.