Frozen Food Part 3

 

This wraps up my week of homesteading.  All I have left to do is one more butternut squash.  So what I've ended up processing and freezing:

• 10 bags of Mirepoix
• 3 pounds of red peppers
• 5 pounds of zucchini
• 10 pounds of butternut squash
• 10 pounds of beets
• 15 pounds of carrots
• 15 pounds of onions
• 30 pounds of potatoes

The Mirepoix was unprocessed; I've done this before and as it goes into soup or stew I haven't noticed any problems with the quality of the veg.  The onions and peppers were frozen raw.  The zucchini, squash, carrots, and potatoes cut into fries were all blanched for 2 minutes.  The beets and potatoes were fully cooked.

The blanching was a bit of a learning curve.  When I did the carrots and zucchini I probably put too much in at a time.  It took quite a few minutes for the water to return to a boil which is when you start the timer.  They may be cooked a bit more than expected.  I'm hoping this isn't a problem, but I'll need to remember this when I go to use them so that I don't overcook them.  I did the squash in small batches using my steamer basket to drop them into the boiling water.  I was able to start my timer almost immediately.  

The next step will be deciding how to use all this produce.  This is some ideas I've found online:

The fries should be dropped into the deep fryer while still frozen; don't thaw them ahead of time.  Apparently if they are thawed they will absorb a lot more grease and not be as good.

The cooked potatoes can be dropped in boiling water to heat through, then mashed or roasted or pan fried.

The zucchini and butternut squash can be steamed or oven roasted.

The beets are fully cooked so can be reheated in the microwave or oven roasted.  Also here's a recipe for Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad.