How to Freeze Peas

We planted 3 rows of sweet peas in our garden, planning on having extras to freeze to use throughout the year. If you want to freeze your own peas, here's a quick guide to do so.

First you need to open all the pods & get the peas out. Madison loves doing that part. We just put them all in a big bucket.

Next you need to blanch the peas. To blanch peas, you dip them in a pot of boiling water for 90 seconds and then immediately put in a bowl of ice water for 90 seconds. This is a picture of our peas after being blanched.


Then put them in a freezer ziplock bag. You want to try to remove the air in the bag to prevent drying & freezer burn. There's two ways to get that extra air out. First way is to zip it so it's almost shut, stick a straw in there and suck out the extra air, then close rest of the way. We did this with our frozen berries and it worked pretty well.

The 2nd way is to dip the bag in water until 1 inch space is left at top. (We just used the same bowl of ice water that we used for blanching.) The pressure from the water will squeeze out most of the air, then seal up the rest of the way.

Place them in the freezer for future use. They'll be good for about 9 months.

Roasted Red Poatoes with Rosemary

Ingredients:
6-8 small red potatoes, quartered
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs minced fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp dried)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Directions: Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients & toss to coat potatoes. Transfer potatoes to a large baking sheet or shallow roasting pan. Roast 25-30 minutes until tender and golden.

Potatoes after being tossed, before being put in the oven.

Red potatoes fresh out of our garden.

Black Raspberry Pie

We picked a lot of black raspberries so I decided to make this pie. I found this recipe in my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. You can also make it with red raspberries, strawberries, blackberries or blueberries (although you need to alter the sugar & flour depending on the tartness of the berry) or make a mixed berry pie (see below).

Ingredients:
2 unbaked pie crusts (recipe follows)
5 cups black raspberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:
1. Roll out double-crust pie pastry. Line a 9-inch pie pan with half of pastry.
Note: I like to pre-bake my pie crust before filling. To do that, cover the edges with aluminum foil, prick bottom with a fork & bake at 375 for 7-8 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar & flour. Stir in berries. Gently toss until berries are coated. If using frozen fruit, let mixture stand for 45 minutes or until fruit is partially thawed but still icy.)
3. Transfer berry mixture to pastry-lined pie plate. Trim bottom pastry to edge of pie plate. Place top pastry crust on filling & seal. Crimp edge as desired (see photo) & cut slits in center.
4. If desired, brush top pastry with milk & sprinkle with sugar. To prevent over browning, cover edge of pie with foil (see photo). Bake in 375F oven for 25 minutes (or 50 mins for frozen fruit). Remove foil. Bake pie for 25-30 minutes more until pastry is golden & filling is bubbly. Cool on wire rack.
Serve with whipped cream.

Fresh Black Raspberries that we picked from a local farm.

Berry Pie Filling:
Blackberry pie: 5 cups berries, 3/4 to 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour
Blueberry pie: 5 cups berries, 2/3 to 3/4 cup sugar, 3 tbs flour
Raspberry pie: 5 cups, 3/4 to 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour
Mixed Berry pie: 2 cups blueberries, 2 cups halved strawberries, 1 cup blackberries or raspberries, 1/2 to 2/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour

Pie crust & filling in pie plate.

Put the top pastry on, crimp the edges & cut slits in the middle.
To crimp the edge, press your thumb on the inside edge of pie crust and your index finger & thumb of other hand on outside edge, press together.

You can also use the tines of a fork pressed lightly on the pie crust to create this look.

Cover the edges of the pie with aluminum foil for first 25 minutes to prevent edges from browning.

Double Pie Crust Recipe

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purposed flour
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup shortening
8 to 10 tbs cold water

1. In a medium bowl, stir together flour and salt. Cut in shortening until pieces are pea size.
2. Sprinkle 1 tbs water over part of flour mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to side of bowl. Repeat, using 1 tbs water at a time, until all the flour mixture is moistened. Divide in half; form each half into a ball.
3. On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to flatten 1 dough ball. Roll dough from center to edges into a 12 inch circle.
4. Transfer to pie plate gently without stretching. Roll remaining dough into circle 12 inch. Cut slits to allow steam to escape. Place on filling, trim to 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold top pastry under bottom pastry. Crimp edge & bake.

Chicken Noodle Soup

I made this soup for Derrick and he loved it. I used this recipe as a guideline but changed so many things. This came out of my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.

Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
1 4-5lb stewing chicken, cut up
6 cups water
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups dried medium noodles
1 cup chopped carrots (2 medium)
1 cup chopped celery (s stalks)
2 tsp dried parsley or 2 tbs fresh parsley
(I also added some dried dill to taste)

Directions:
1. In a large kettle or Dutch oven combine chicken, water, onion, salt, pepper & bay leaf. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 2 hrs or until chicken is tender.
2. Remove chicken from broth. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones. Discard bones. Cut meat into bite-sized pieces; set aside. (I shredded mine instead of cutting into pieces.) Discard bay leaf. Skim fat from broth.
3. Bring broth to boiling. Stir in the noodles, carrots and celery. Simmer, covered, about 8 minutes or until noodles are tender but still firm. Stir in chicken & parsley; heat through.

Makes about 8 servings.

I cooked the carrots & celery with the chicken for the whole 2 hrs so they were nice & soft .

Making Strawberry Jam

We tried 3 different strawberry jam recipes. One with commercial pectin which required 7 cups of sugar. It was too much sugar for us and we ended up over-cooking it. Then we made one with commerical no-sugar pectin (which uses grape juice instead). It came out okay tasting but too thick.

Finally, we made Old Fashioned Strawberry jam with no pectin. When you use pectin, you only need to boil the jam for about 1-3 minutes, depending on the recipe. When you don't use pectin, you need to boil the jam for at least 30 minutes while stirring frequently so it does take a bit more work. We found that the old fashioned came out the best tasting & had the best thickness, so that is the recipe I list here.

Steps of Making Strawberry Jam

First wash & rinse the jars, lids & rings. You should boil them for 10-15 minutes to kill any bacteria. Then keep in a 200F oven until ready for use (this will keep them warm so they don't crack when you pour the hot jam into them.)



I have this "Equivalent Measurements" magnet on my fridge. It really comes in useful when I need to do some quick conversion math. I found it at Target in the dollar section.



Next you prepare the fruit. Wash & hull the strawberries, remove any bruised parts. Crush the strawberries with a potato masher & measure amount for recipe.


Place the strawberries in the pot over medium-high heat. We don't like big pieces in our jam so we continued to mash with the potato masher until they were well mashed. You would add the sugar & lemon juice at this point.



Bring to a rolling boil (a boil that can't be stirred down). Cook until it reaches the jelling point (see next picture) or until thick, about 30 minutes. I think we cooked ours for about 40 minutes.


The jell point - you can test the jell point by dipping a metal spoon into the jam (we just used our wooden stirring spoon so I could get a picture). Lift the spoon out and let the jam drip off the spoon. When it falls in two drops and then flows together to form a sheet, it's ready. Our second batch didn't reach the jell point before we decided to stop cooking it and it came out fine, just a little more runny. If you like your jam thicker, than you should definitely aim towards the jell point.

This is a picture of the jam when we finished.

Ladle the jam into the warm jars using a jar funnel (you can find that in the canning section of a store like Walmart or your local fruit exchange). After you fill the jars, put the lid & ring on and process in a boiling pot of water for 10 minutes. This will kill any bacteria so the jam doesn't spoil.

Our finished jars of strawberry jam.

Old Fashioned Strawberry Jam

Ingredients:
2 quarts crushed strawberries (crush the berries before measuring)
3 tbs lemon juice
4 cups sugar
You can add 1/2 tsp butter if it starts to foam too much.

Directions:
1. Measure berries and place in an 8-quart or larger pot.
2. Add lemon juice and sugar to berries; bring slowly to boiling, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves.
3. Cook rapidly to the jell point (see picture) or until thick (about 30 minutes). As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking.
4. Remove from heat and skim with a metal spoon to remove foam.
5. Quickly ladle into clean, hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace; seal.
6. Process in boiling-water bath 10 minutes.

Yield: About 8 half-pints

Derrick's toast the next morning with our homemade strawberry jam.

Strawberry Butter

This is a really yummy recipe I found on Martha Stewart's website. A few years ago I went to an Irish restaurant for breakfast. They served warm muffins with strawberry butter...it was so delicous. When I saw this recipe, I had to try it. It came out great. Spread it on warm muffins, bread, scones, biscuits, anything. I'm definitely making it to go with my Irish soda bread next St. Patrick's Day.

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup hulled and coarsley chopped strawberries (I prefer finely chopped as I don't like the big chunks but just the flavor)

Directions: Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and salt until light about 1 minute. Add strawberries and beat until combined. Transfer to ramekins or small serving dishes. Chill until ready to serve, or transfer to 2 sheets of plastic wrap, roll each into log, and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw before using. Serve at room temperature.

Zucchini Baked Goods

Both of these recipes use "finely shredded zucchini", so here is a picture of finely shredded zucchini. I used the smallest shred holes on a 4-sided cheese grater. If the pieces are too big, they'll sink to the bottom of the batter.

Zucchini Bread

This recipe is from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 beaten egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup finely shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted (optional)

Directions:
1. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of an 8x4x2 inch loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.
2. In another medium bowl combine egg, sugar, zucchini, and oil. Add zucchini mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in nuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in 350F ovenfor 50-55 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing. Makes 1 loaf (16 servings)

Apple Bread (variation): Prepare as above, except substitute 1 1/2 cups finely shredded, peeled apple for the shredded zucchini.

Nutrition facts per serving: 147 cal, 6g total fat, 13mg chol, 123mg sodium, 21g carb, 1g fiber, 2g protein

Zucchini Chocolate Cake

The original recipe was actually to make "brownies" but the result I got was a moist chocolate cake so I changed the name.

Cake
Ingredients:
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups finely shredded zucchini

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Grease & flour a 9x13 pan. In a large bowl, mix oil, sugar, and vanilla until combined. Stir in zucchini. In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, soda & salt. Stir into sugar mixture and mix until blended. Bake 25-30 minutes, until cake spring back when gently touched or knife comes out clean. Allow to cool before frosting.

Frosting
Ingredients:
6 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions: Melt together cocoa powder & butter, set aside. Medium bowl, blend sugar, milk & vanilla. Stir in cocoa mixture. If it's too runny you can add more powdered sugar to your preferred thickness. Spread over cooled cake.

How to remove the pit of a cherry

Using a Straw
You need to use a sturdy straw, cheap ones are too flimsy. Pull the stem out and push the straw through the center & the pit will come out the bottom.

Using a Cherry Pitter
We bought this at our local fruit exchange. It works pretty well (better than the straw). Remove the stem, center the cherry & push down the lever to poke the pit out the bottom.

The local U-Pick farms around here will pit cherries for you (free of charge). They have machines that do them real fast....be careful though because sometimes they miss a few and you might get a pit in your cherry pie.

Fruit Leather & Kiwi Jam

Kiwi Apple Fruit Leather

Derrick made some kiwi jam which required 2 1/2 apples to boil in the jam and then removing the apples. So I used the boiled apples (covered in kiwi), 3 more kiwi and 1 tbs honey - mixed in a blender and poured in the fruit leather dehydrating tray.

This is what it looked like when it came out.


Strawberry fruit leather

I mixed about 2 cups of fresh strawberries and one cup unsweetened applesauce in a blender, then poured in the fruit leather tray. Derrick said it was too sour so next time I would add a little honey.

This is actually a peach strawberry fruit leather after it finished in the dehydrator. I forgot to take a picture of the strawberry one when it was done. For the peach recipe I cut up 3 peaches, used about a cup or 2 of strawberries and 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, plus 1 tbs honey.

Mango Lassi

Ingredients:
1 mango, peeled & chopped
3/4 cup (6oz) plain yogurt
5-6 pieces of ice
1 tbs honey

Mix all ingredients in blender until smooth.