Thursday, October 11, 2012

Freezer Clean-Out

This time I'm cleaning out the freezer because I want to, not because I have to.

I've been saving bags of vegetable peelings, ends, and the like to make vegetable stock so I brought out the lobster pot and 3 of those bags.  The variety of vegetable bits in there was really amazing to me; I could identify at least 15 different types of vegetables!  I filled the pot up to the top and simmered away.  While I was going through the freezer I found a ham bone with some meat on it I'd frozen to make soup.  Since I had the pressure canner out anyway I figured, why not?  I quick-soaked a bag of 16-bean mix and made ham and bean soup.  This had onions, leeks, celery, carrot, and poblano peppers in it, which gave it a little kick.  It does need a little more salt which I can add when I am ready to serve it.  The soup went into 5 quart jars and into the canner for 90 minutes.

Then I turned my attention back to the stock and strained it all.  My pressure canner holds a total of 16 pint jars and even with that I had 4 quarts of stock left.  I will likely make another batch of soup when I have time and use it as the base.  Currently it's in the freezer.

Now that Mocha is around, I should not be accumulating vegetable bits as quickly as he would gladly eat whatever kale stems and beet greens I feel like giving him.  I think I have plenty of stock, though, to last me for a year.

All this just in time to head out to the farm again!

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