Freezing Your Veggies for Winter
The last chance to gather up some fresh local produce from our farmers markets will be coming up over the next couple of weekends. You will find some excellent deals at these last chance markets on some of your favorite winter veggies like collard greens, kale, swiss chard, pumpkin, butternut squash, delicata and more. Check your local farmers market websites and with your local farmers for dates on the last big sale before we all sit down for a hot cup of tea and a rest during the winter months.
If you are like myself and everyone else I personally know, you do not have a cold storage room where you can keep your winter veggies fresh. In this case you just need to do a little planning, prepping, and cooking to get your freezer all stocked up with your favorite local greens and squashes. Here are a few freezing and storage tips to help you stock up that freezer for the winter.
Freezing Winter Greens
You will want to wash, pat dry and de-stem them. You can save the stems & stalks separately for stews and soups. I’ll go over that process in a bit. So, let’s look at how we prep our greens for the freezer.
Bring a large stock pot of salted water to a boil.
While the water is heating, wash your greens thoroughly under cold water to remove all bugs and dirt.
Pat dry with a kitchen cloth. Tear or cut your leaves away from the stems. Set the stems aside and chop your greens.
Carefully drop your chopped greens into the pot once the water is at a full boil. Blanch for 2 to 2 ½ minutes. (blanching is a quick cook method that helps preserve the moisture in your veggies.) Your greens will turn bright green and soften up just a bit. Once your 2 minutes are up, strain out the greens and place them into a bowl of ice water for about 2 minutes or just until they are cool.
Remove the cooled greens onto a dry dish cloth and dry thoroughly. You may need to squeeze the towel around the greens to remove the liquid. You want them as dry as possible before freezing. You can ball up the greens in your hand and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or plastic; place the tray in your freezer and freeze flat. Once frozen place your clumps in a plastic bag, remove as much air as possible, label and keep frozen until ready to use.
You can also portion cooled greens directly into plastic freezer bags, remove as much air as possible, label and date, then use them whenever you need. This easy method works great for smoothies, soups, stir fries, and stews.
Broccoli, Cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts
All these veggies can be prepared using the same cleaning, prepping, blanching, and cooling method used above. The size you choose to cut your florets will affect your blanching time. The standard rule is about 3 minutes or until the florets are bright in color and al dente (firm, with a slight bite). You do not want them fork tender as you will be reheating them in future recipes. The broccoli stems can be saved and used for future dishes just as your green stems can be used. We will talk about that in just a bit. Let’s get to the winter squash prep before we go there.
Winter Squash
You have two methods to choose from for winter squash. My favorite is the simplest and requires no cooking at all.
Method One:
Wash and peel your squash. Trim the ends to create a flat surface. This will make peeling and cutting much easier and SAFER!
Once peeled, cut the squash in half. Remove the seeds and strings, save seeds for roasting or drying for future use.
Dice your squash into bite sized chunks and portion into plastic bags.
Remove as much air as possible, label and date, place in your freezer.
This works great for creating easy to prep soups, stews, and sauces. You can add a bag straight from the freezer to any of your favorite soups and stews and have them tender and ready to eat in literally minutes.
Method Two:
Wash your squash
Create a flat end and slice down the middle
Place face down on a cookie sheet or baking pan, you will want either parchment paper or a touch of oil to keep the squash from sticking.
Bake the squash at 375 for approximately 40 minutes. The timing will depend on the size and type of your squash. A large kabocha will take longer than a small delicata. The squash needs to be fork tender.
Remove and cool thoroughly.
Once cool, scrape the meat out of the skin. At this point you can portion and freeze your cooked squash into tempered glass jars. Remember to leave a ½ inch space to allow for expansion when freezing and add a small piece of parchment or wax paper to keep the freezer burn off the top. If you do not have or like the glass jar idea you can portion into plastic freezer bags, flatten out your squash meat and freeze flat. Remember as always to label and date everything. Once frozen you can stack them nicely for maximum storage space.
All your veggies should last up to a year if needed. Using them over the course of the winter season would be the best practice if possible. The blanched and cooked product will last longer than the product stored raw.
Stems and Stalks
Okay, let’s talk quickly about the STEMS and STALKS. Most of the stalks from your greens can be chopped like celery and frozen as is. Be sure to remove the dry ends and discard in the compost. These crunchy bits can be used straight out of your freezer. They make great additions to stir-fries and stews. (This method also works for onions if you find yourself with more than you can use before they go bad.) Dice your onion and portion into freezer bags. Use them as you would fresh onions in your sauce, stews, soups and stir-fries.
Broccoli stalks need to be trimmed and peeled. Once peeled you can shred some stalks and use that in a salad, you can dice and freeze stalks and use in soups, stews, pasta dishes and stir -fries.
Try to challenge yourself. Try to think of a use for as many parts of your winter veggies as possible. Don’t forget about all those seeds, you can clean off the stringy meat, rinse & pat dry. Toss in a bit of olive oil or another of your favorite oils and season with some salt and pepper, or maybe go wild and spice them up with some cayenne and cumin, or turmeric and curry. The variations are endless. Place them evenly on a cookie sheet and roast on 350 for about 20 minutes. These seeds once cooled will store well in an airtight container. They make great snacks and add protein and good fats to your salads, bean dishes, or try sprinkling some atop your roasted veggies.
I hope you find some use for the information provided above. Our winter veggies are full of immune boosting antioxidants. They are packed full of Vitamin A and Vitamin C; they are essential to giving us the fuel and the nutrients we need to thrive through the winter months. Stock up, have fun, try some new ways to incorporate these foods into your favorite winter meals. Stay warm and well.
Please email with any questions or ideas you may have for future posts. I love hearing from you all.
As always, I believe healthful food is a right not a privilege. I believe everyone deserves access to the tools that can keep them healthy. Please reach out for a free 30 minute consult and start taking the first step on your personal joyful journey to health.
