The Joy of Gardening

There is nothing more satisfying than realizing that all the hard gardening work is worth it. Our family often vacations this time of year. Coming home to a prolific harvest is both exciting and daunting. Ready and waiting were yellow and green beans, sugar snap peas, beets, yellow squash, cabbage, zucchini, cukes, broccoli, cauliflower, swiss chard, lettuce, kale, carrots, potatoes, and onions. Whew!!!!!!!!! It has been a challenge to to keep up with cooking or preserving this amazing bounty.

Preserving methods can vary. Freezing, canning/pickling, or dehydrating are the most common. This week, I froze 9 huge heads of broccoli. Make sure you soak broccoli or cauliflower in salt water to draw insects out. Then, drop in boiling water for three minutes follwed by ice water for three minutes. This process is called blanching. Blanching slows or stops the action of enzymes which cause vegetables to grow and mature. If you don't stop this process, the enzymes will be active during frozen storage causing off-colors, off-flavors and toughening. In addition to freezing, I have been canning beets, and pickling cucumbers. Mrs. Wages Kosher Dill pickling spice is what I have been using for years and is by far the family favorite. Making pickles are so easy. Just slice cukes, put them in a clean canning jar, add pickling spice, and put a new lid and band. Place jars in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove and enjoy after 24 hours. Mrs. Wages even makes refrigerator pickling spice for those who do not fuss with canning. Now this year, I am trying my hands at dehydrating.

The joy of gardening can be enjoyed by you, too-even if you don't have a veggie garden of your own. There are tons of local farms that you can pick your own. Try it. Make sure that you have a preserving plan so all your work does not go to waste. By all means, have fun and bon appetit!