Jennifer Hatch, September, Squirrel Season

First measurable harvest, on Aug. 21. 

My September project was to do a better job about preserving the produce from my small garden. Last year I harvested much that went to waste before I got to it. I determined that if I didn't have a plan in place by afternoon to process the veggies, then I would share the day's bounty with a neighbor. The canning or freezing didn't need to be all sealed up by afternoon, I just needed to have my time set aside to do so, even if it meant working into the evening. Although it's a crazy amount of work, I like the satisfaction of canning, especially since it doesn't get undone quite as fast as many of my other endeavors. I am grateful to act like a squirrel and set aside food for my family.

I started the month with a bang, putting up 26 quarts of peaches from my little tree. That made me happy, because we planted the tree in honor of my brother who passed away in 2009. This is our first  canning-worthy harvest, and I will smile with fun memories of him every time we open a bottle. His birthday is in September.

I also sliced peaches and froze several bags' worth. I blanched slices of yellow squash and grated zucchini for future loaves of bread. That first week I also made salsa and roasted tomato sauce to freeze, and bottled tomatoes in separate batches of pints and quarts. I got more efficient with each canner load. The funny thing about canning is it makes you want to use everything up fresh to spare you the work -- so I tried lots of new recipes, too. I really liked Holli's project of involving her children in canning, but wasn't as successful as her. I tried! Does it count that my boys love to play with my canning tools -- and hide them through the house? Hmm, squirrels. I also made neighbor deliveries. :)

Then I forged the fruit fly fight! Ugh. Hate those things!

Looking back, I noticed my trips to the garden got fewer and father between as the month progressed.   Huh. Perhaps subconsciously I didn't want the work? (Or flies in the house?) You don't have to can if you don't pick anything! Also, September was just so wet. So I have a few leg-sized zucchini that are too hard-skinned to be much good. But my mind is a-brewing how I could make a giant spider decoration out of them. Er, waste not, want not.

Here are a few freezing tips I've picked up over the years:

• Use a straw to suck up as much as as you can out of a freezer bag when you seal it. Stick in straw, slide zipper close to the straw, then suck up air and close zipper the rest of the way as you remove the straw. I learned this from Nora!

• Place bags flat on cookie sheet when you place in freezer so your finished product will also be flat, and not conformed to weird shapes. Once frozen, stack in the freezer. Using a cookie sheet is also helpful to avoid jostling, then bursting open, the bags as you transport them to the freezer. Not that I would know anything about that.

• Tomatoes freeze beautifully for use in sauces and soups. Remove core, then freeze them whole with or without peel. For real! Flash freeze on a cookie sheet, then put in freezer bag, squeezing out extra air or using straw method. Whole tomatoes take up more space, of course, but it's super fast. If you've left the peel on, run frozen tomato under warm water to remove it when you're ready to use. Or, dip tomatoes in boiling water 30-60 seconds to remove peel before freezing. This also thaws them. This time I peeled, then sliced tomatoes to save freezer space.

• Salsa can be frozen! This allows you to use any recipe you like without having to make acid adjustments for safe canning. Do peel the tomatoes; the peel comes off in the freezing process if you don't. Chop your tomatoes first, then let them sit in a colander while you chop everything else. This gives time to remove excess liquid.

• I like to roast tomatoes with a little olive oil and salt, then puree. Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise (Romas are great), remove seed membranes if you want (cuts down on roasting time). Drizzle cut side with olive oil and salt, put cut side down on cookie sheet and roast in 350+ oven until liquid is mostly removed, about an hour or so. I run the tomatoes through a food mill. (I lucked out with an old-school chinois from my grandma.)  I think you could also easily separate the cooked flesh from the skin with a spoon, then use a food processor or blender to make a sauce. Or, what the heck, leave the charred skins on for extra flavor. We use this on homemade pizza. It freezes well.

• Peppers don't need to be blanched before freezing. I cut them in half, remove seeds, then flash freeze on a cookie sheet.

• If you grate zucchini for use later in breads, muffins and such, freeze it in the same quantity you will use in your recipe.