Tuesday, August 4, 2009

20 pounds of produce

The tomatoes may be slacking this season, but you can be sure, the blueberries certainly aren’t.

I went blueberry picking with my mom just yesterday, and I can tell you, they are more than pulling their weight around here. The picking made for a small time investment, a lot of sweating, and pretty sore arms the next day, but we made it out of there with just under 20 pounds of blueberries, fresh off their bushes. And making it out of anywhere with 20 pounds of produce is my idea of a great afternoon.



While I think about what to do with all of these (I’m really wishing I bought that ice cream maker a few months ago), I’m freezing about 6 of my nine pounds. That way I’m in no rush, and perhaps I can even reach into my freezer deep in the winter and put some in my oatmeal, but I doubt they’ll last that long.



How to freeze blueberries (thanks mom):

Pick through and rinse all berries, and pat dry with paper towels. Then lay them out on cookie sheets (or even better, cooling racks) until they are completely dry. (This is important, so no ice forms around the berries.)



When dry, place cookie sheets in freezer and freeze for about an hour, or until just hard. Transfer all berries into freezer bags, squeezing out as much air as you can. My mom even suggested sticking a straw into an almost-closed bag and sucking out all of the air before you close it, but I didn’t have any straws on hand.

1 comment:

Lauri said...

Yes, sad about the state of everyones tomatos...I say we should start a tomato support group to get us through the blues...oh yeah, speaking of Blue... your first photo was very artistic!! Thanks for the idea of cooling rack! A very Green idea, leass paper towel usage!!