Preserving Summer Garden Delights: Tips for Freezing & Drying Produce …

Homemade, Sun Dried Tomatoes –  For Easy Tutorial Post Click Here

It’s Fourth of July weekend. Barbecues are sizzling, picnic baskets are filling and fireworks fill the night skies. Summer is here at last and, as they say, the living is easy. Fresh produce flows from the garden in a steady stream and fills the table at every meal. It’s hard to imagine that the rich bounty will ever end. But wait… What of Winter… Remember last year’s early Winter? Oh I know it’s hard to think about that chilly, White Witch now, but before we know it, Jack Frost will be having one of his late night parties and all of the fresh herbs and sweet tomatoes will be but a memory again. Well, don’t let it all slip away so fast! Preserve a bit of summer here and there —whenever you have an spare moment— to savor when snowbanks are piled a mile high and bitter winds howl outside your windows.

Frozen Herb Cubes in Oil, Butter, Broth, Juice or Water – For Easy Tutorial Post, Click Here

Imagine popping a few of your own homemade, freshly-frozen herb cubes into the sauté pan; inhaling the delicious aroma of summertime basil as the olive oil melts on the stove. Perhaps you’ll add an onion or a clove of garlic pulled from the handmade braids dangling from your ceiling, or even better, a few of those sweet, sun dried tomatoes you put up in late July. There’s nothing like being transported to summer in the middle of a cold winter night…

Stored in Jars of Olive Oil, Sun Dried Tomatoes Make Beautiful Gifts – For Easy Tutorial Post, Click Here

Dried Herbs Add Great Flavor to Teas, Sauces, Soups and Many Savory & Sweet Dishes. Preserve the Best Flavor by Cutting Fresh, First Thing in the Morning, Sorting and Bundling Before Hanging to Dry – Easy Tutorial Post, Click Here.

So, now that all the time you’ve invested is beginning to pay rich dividends in the garden, be sure to set something aside for the future. Harvest extra herbs from the garden, and freeze as many as you can in cubes of butter, olive, coconut or other oil, juice, broth or water (see tutorial here). Later, you can pull those fresh-frozen herb cubes from the freezer and pop them into all sorts of savory and sweet dishes, or simply add a cube of minty freshness to your morning tea. Still more herbs? Bundle, tie and hang the rest to dry in a closet or attic (click here for herb drying tutorial), drape some from the beams beside the braids of garlic and onions, or add them to bottled vinegars and oils. Click on the other photos posted here for addition tips on putting food by, and stay tuned for more ways to preserve the harvest throughout sweet, sweet summertime!

Onions and Garlic are Beautiful When Braided and Hung from Kitchen Beams. For Longer-Term Storage, I Hang or Box Them in My Cellar. Click Here for an Easy How-to-Braid Onions and Garlic Tutorial.

Braiding Onions and Garlic is a Simple and Attractive Way to Store Produce Where You Need it Most: In the Kitchen! Click Here for Step-by-Step Photo Tutorial Post.

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