It's April - What's Left?

I put up quite a lot of food last summer and fall - frozen fruits and vegetables, canned tomatoes, canned jam, and lots of canned salsa. We also had squash, shallots, sweet potatoes, onions, potatoes, and carrots, mostly from our late fall CSA, and bought some more storage crop items at Winter Fare in early February. So what's left now that it's April and the farmers market is due to open in a week and half?

In a nutshell, not much. It seems we did pretty well at putting up enough to use without having a ton leftover when the season starts up again. I have one package of corn, a couple of green beans, and a couple of chopped tomatoes in the freezer, along with some more pesto. I've got a few packets of strawberries that I'm saving for the first rhubarb, some peaches that I'm saving for smoothies and popsicles as the weather warms up, and a LOT of blueberries left. That might be the one are where we were overly ambitious, having put up about 30 lbs of them. But I also know we'll start using a lot in smoothies and popsicles as the weather warms up and before they are in season again.

In the pantry, I've got one last quart jar of tomatoes, a couple half pints of salsa verde, and a little jam. We have some shallots left, though I recently had to toss some in the compost because they were crumbling inside. And that's it.

I wish I had done a little more corn and some more red pepper, but we did alright with what we had. Next year I'll definitely stock up on more red peppers in the early fall, in order to make more romesco sauce.

Storing Winter Squash

It's a bit late in the season for this, but since you asked...

Winter squash and pumpkins store best in a place with moderate humidity and a cool but not cold temperature. For me this meant a cardboard box on a shelf in the mudroom, which is insulated but not heated (though open to the rest of the house). In good condition, squash and pumpkins will keep for several months this way. Some varieties keep better than others (delicata, for example, is not a great keeper; butternut can be very good).

Before storing, make sure you check the squash all over for any sign of bad spots or nicks. Even a small ding, if it breaks the skin, is an opening for bacteria and the squash will go bad. Likewise any spots that are already soft. A squash or pumpkin with any of these should be used promptly. Once in storage, you should check on your squash and pumpkins periodically (every couple weeks maybe; more often if it's convenient) so you can grab any that start to show signs of going bad and use them right away.

The other way to store squash and pumpkin is to cook and freeze it. These last few recipes I have posted have used squash from the freezer. I cook it, mash or puree it, and store it in quart-sized freezer bags in 1-cup quantities (the amount most often called for in baked goods recipes). If you have a squash that's starting to go bad and you aren't going to use it right away, you can preserve it this way.

Spring is Coming

Suddenly the weather has turned spring-like! Here in Greenfield, where the elevation is low, the snow is all gone. The crocuses are coming up in the yard, and chives, rhubarb, and garlic are coming up in the garden. Another growing season is upon us. We might still get some more snow before we're through, but all these plants can handle a bit. In the meantime, the sun and warmth are pulling us outdoors to clean up the garden and prepare for planting the earliest crops - this year it will be snap peas, snow peas, fava beans (a new crop for us that I am excited about; they are so yummy), carrots, radishes, and a slew of cold hardy greens. And we need to get seeds started indoors for the warm weather stuff. We're a little behind on that this year, but still within the window. The Johnny's order just came yesterday. This year we're also going to experiment with using some row cover material over hoops for some of the early plantings, like peas, to see if it helps them along a little faster.

On the culinary scene, last night I made squash and sweet potato soup (slightly varied; I added a bit of ground cinnamon and nutmeg, to good effect). The squash that I used was one that I bought at the farmers market back in October and have been storing in a cardboard box in my mudroom ever since. It was in perfect condition. There a few more squashes left in the box and they're all doing fine - we don't have a root cellar, but this storage method seems to be working well.

At the same time, we are still working through veggies and fruits in the freezer. I am actually starting to wonder if we'll end up with more than we need when the spring crops start showing up - but then I remember that it's nice to have a bit more to work with than greens and asparagus. I'll keep you all posted on how it goes, but it is gratifying to see that our fairly small, 10-cubic-foot chest freezer has stood us in such good stead.

Storing Fresh Basil

Fresh basil is available in the farmers market now, as farmers start pruning basil plants to encourage bushier growth. If you buy fresh basil or harvest your own and you are not able to use it the same day, don't put it in the fridge. Basil doesn't like temperatures that cold, and refrigeration is likely to make it turn black in places. Instead, fill a glass or jar with water and put the basil in it--then leave it on the counter. Give the bottom of the stems a fresh trim first. Basil will keep quite nicely this way for at least a few days.

I'll be posting plenty of recipes using fresh basil as the summer goes on. When it's just coming into season like right now, I like to throw it into all kinds of things. Try a few leaves tossed into a green salad, or chopped and added to scrambled eggs (had this on Saturday--yum!).