Puree and Freeze 101

It takes some planning and some freezer space but over the past year, I have become a great believer in not letting any of the wonderful organic produce that we get from a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm go to waste. Here is a step-by-easy-step method to steam, puree and freeze those veggies for future use as baby food or just added nutrition to everyday meals.

We got a load of garnet yams over the last 2 deliveries. I've experimented with different yam dishes outside the holiday realm and haven't found anything that the family is wild about. So I just steam and then puree them to use later.

First, cut each yam in half. No peeling necessary!

Place halves in steamer and cook for approximately 35 minutes:

I should have taken a picture of how easy it is to scoop the yams out of the skins. I love it when I don't have to peel something. Scoop it all in to a food processor and blend until smooth:

Then load the puree into ice cube trays. I got these at the Dollar Store and they come with a cover! I only use these trays for food freezing:

Freeze for 1-2 hours or overnight. Remove from freezer and let sit for about 5 minutes. Loosen the cubes and place in to zippered freezer bags for long term storage:

I did a bunch of spinach after the yams and just started feeding my 6-month old the spinach - she is loving it. I am loving not spending money on expensive organic baby food and knowing exactly what my kids are eating. I also love adding a few cubes to spaghetti sauce, mac n cheese or any other casserole. It saves time and adds valuable nutrition to your meals. Here's to a healthy 2009!

Cooking Ahead Pays Off

I always try to make more than just one batch of certain things - lasagna is one of our family's favorite "Make-Aheads." It's really easy to make a really large batch of tomato sauce (with and sometimes without meat), cook a full box of lasagna noodles and super simple to assemble. A recipe note: I don't use the "no-cook" lasagna noodles because we prefer the texture of the cooked ones. It may be that my recipe is not super sauce soaked, which may be the difference. I have also used spinach in place of the zuchinni - both make this a pretty healthy dish. I originally planned to give one of these away so I used foil lasagna pans from the Dollar Store. You actually get 2 for $1. I price compared these at Target and it was .97 each so a good deal for these pans at the Dollar Store. If making just for us, I use a Pyrex dish and a cake pan. I usually try to stretch this recipe to make 3 pans.

I let them cool and then just put them in the freezer until we need one. Since the ingredients are fully cooked, it's really easy to just pop in the oven and cook quickly. On weekends like this one, where we decided last-minute to go to a potluck Halloween event, it really comes in handy! Here's my recipe:

1 box Lasagna noodles (you'll need 6 noodles for each pan so you may want to count)
1 28oz. can of tomato sauce
1 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 6oz. can of tomato paste

1lb ground turkey or beef

1 tbs minced garlic

1 small onion

Basil, oregano to taste

1tbs olive oil

1 27oz. container of ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 large zuchinni, grated or shredded
6 cups mozzarella cheese

Boil a large pot of water and add lasagna noodles, cook according to directions and then drain. While noodles are cooking, brown beef/turkey in skillet. Add garlic and onion and saute for 5 minutes. Then add tomatoes, paste, sauce and spices. Simmer for 20 minutes. In another saute pan, add olive oil and shredded zuchinni, saute until just cooked.
Empty container of ricotta into a bowl and stir in egg. Add zuchinni and stir together.

To assemble: Put a small amount of sauce in the bottom of the pan just so the bottom noodles don't stick to the pan. Lay 3 noodles down. With a spatula, spread a layer of the ricotta-zuke mixture on the noodles and then add another layer of 3 noodles. Cover the top layer with the tomato sauce and then spread two cups of the cheese on top. It really is that easy!

Cook at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly on top.

Summer Harvest

Over the winter, after an awesome conversation with one of our cabin partners and inspired by Michael Pollan's writings, I solidified my plans to plant a garden. This is only the second time I've attempted vegetable gardening. I figured that since I would be on maternity leave for the WHOLE summer, I would have plenty of time to tend to this venture. Reality check was that I didn't even really have to "tend" it at all - it tended itself. Ok, my mom and Michael [DS] planted it when I was too huge to do it and she watered it most days but after that, the weeds have been minimal and easily pulled at the first sign. There wasn't much to do except let the harvest roll in.

Since we did not use any fertilizers or anything on this garden, I consider it organic.

We've had more zuchinni and green beans than we can count. Not so successful were the peas, which, according to my parents, peaked quickly and while we were on vacation. Romaine lettuce never grew quite as large as expected and did not yield but one good head, which we mixed with some store-bought for a fantastic Caesar salad.

Where are the savings you ask? Well, I looked at my local Safeway store and they sell organic Italian squash for .61 per squash. They don't list organic green beans except the frozen variety, which sell for $3.50 per pound.

Technically, if you add up the materials used to get the garden started, including the seeds and building the raised beds (thanks to my trusty and oh-so handyman husband), I'm probably not saving a lot this year. And I didn't add up my total yields for each vegetable. But let me tell you how absolutely THRILLED Michael has been to go out to our garden to watch the progression of the veggies as they have grown and now that we actually have something to show for it - as the cliche ad goes, "Priceless."