Remember when the plants were all tiny? Before they busted out with produce?
This week’s list is Ten Things to do with an Overabundance of Produce. I did not plant a garden this year as we were supposed to be in full renovation mode (more on that another day), but I’m fortunate to know lots of good, productive gardeners. Here are my ideas about dealing with a bountiful harvest.
Planning to use that harvest yourself?
1. Make gazpacho. I use the linked recipe as a guideline. I’m trying to knock a few ell-bees off, so there is no way I’m adding all the oil Ina suggests; I just put a tiny drizzle in. Also, I use a low-sodium tomato juice and whatever veggies I have. As long as there are cukes and peppers, it tastes delicious.
2. Zucchini bread. Lots of zukes means lots of opportunities to try different recipes. The linked one is the one I will make today. There are also zucchini brownie recipes that look good if you like chocolate.
3. Speedy tomato sauce. Sara taught me to make this. The recipe is super flexible. Rough chop some tomatoes (I like using Romas best, but any will do), put them in a blender and add a drizzle of olive oil, a handful of basil, garlic cloves to taste (I tend to go heavy on these), a dash of salt and pepper. Blend away, and pour over pasta. I add peppers that I’ve rough chopped when I have them.
4. Roast ’em. In the oven or on the grill, roasted veggies are so versatile. I like to eat them cold the next day!
5. Refrigerator pickles. Oh, so good!
Want to save it for later?
6.Blanch and freeze. One of these days, we’ll get a chest freezer in the basement. In the meantime, I load up the fridge’s freezer with fruits and veggies. I especially like having summer cherries (which I do not blanch) in February (clafoutis for Valentine’s day!).
7. Can. Do you read Amy’s blog? She is an inspiring food preserver! I most often refer to this book or this book to guide me in my canning efforts. While we don’t go through the jams and other foods I put up, we have willing families; I gave bags of preserved food as Christmas gifts last year, and the homemade catsup and peach butter were especially well received.
Going to share?
8.Donate to a food bank. In CT Foodshare will accept fresh fruits and vegetables. Be sure to check, as not all food banks are able to.
9. Post on your SnB group’s page (ours is on FaceBook now) what you have and see what your crafty pals would like to use. I give away lots of sage and mint this way!
10. Ring and run. I have a neighbor who is generous in sharing his bounty. Without him this year, I’d have to depend on the farm stands for my plethora of produce!
gosh, i wish i had lots of veg growing in my garden! but these are great suggestions for gorging on farmer’s market fare too. thanks!
All great suggestions!
wow, now for the second time I heard of zucchini brownie. How do they taste? Can you tell there is zucchini in it?
Linda, I’m not a huge fan of chocolate, so I haven’t made the zuke brownies yet…I’m betting the squash just keeps them moist and gives a little extra fiber!
Just bought tomatillos and zuke from a neighbors honor system table
school starts back next week so it’s already starting to feel like fall (even with temperatures topping out about 95 degrees), but your post makes me think SUMMER! hope you’re enjoying plenty of garden bounty – you know how to put it all to good use!