Monday, July 23, 2012

Put Up or Shut Up...

Tonight I blanched, vacu-sealed and froze about two pounds of green beans, two large heads of broccoli and a zucchini that a friend gave me last night.

Now that July is coming to a close and August is setting in, it's time to start really thinking about putting things up for winter. The meat birds have been processed (weighing in at between 5 and 8 pounds). The pig won't be ready until late November. So it's time to think about veggies, soups, dehydrating and canning. I did none of this last year (no freezer), so I'm determines to make the most of it this year.

And in six months, when I pull some of that locally grow, farm fresh goodness out of the freezer, I'm going to smile and think about this evening: the sound of the wind whipping through the windows, creating a wind tunnel in my house; Sadie turning her nose up at a piece of zucchini until she saw me eating it and figured it wasn't poison; the sight of the chickens comin' runnin' when I tossed out the bits and ends that I cut off the vegetable; watering the tomatoes with the water I used for blanching...after the dog decided she was done drinking it (wouldn't eat a green bean, but she'll drink the water I cooked them in, weird dog!); and listening to the crickets and the calmer wind as the sun sets on this day.

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