Better than the Bakery Blueberry Muffins, A Magazine Wreath, The Key to Trust and How to sew the Ladder Stich are this week's featured posts!
Hello and Welcome!
We have begun participating in a weekly CSA. As with most CSA springtime boxes, we are eating a LOT of greens...which we love, but golly I might start doing small batch blanching and freezing for later. Small batch freezing works well for home gardeners as well as those enjoying a CSA program. I used to think I had to work with large batches of food for preserving whether I was making jam, canning fruit, or freezing vegetables.
Then one year when my husband planted our garden I found myself having a small harvest of the day's picked crops. And it seemed there wasn't enough for a meal, but I knew that there would be more tomorrow. And one day in a frugal moment I put a small pan of water on to boil, to blanched a large handful of green beans. Once blanched, they were drained and from there I gave them an ice water bath. Drained once again, then spread them on a cookie sheet to freeze.
Once frozen the green beans were tossed into a large gallon-sized freezer bag for short-term storage. A couple days later I repeated this five-minute task with the next handful of green beans. I also had a freezer bag for snap peas. For Swiss Chard, I placed the ice-cold greens in a small square plastic container.
At the end of the season, the large gallon bags were removed from the freezer and the contents divided up and repackaged into meal-sized packages. It was convenient to just grab a package of frozen vegetables from the freezer. But what I learned that year, was that the entire small batch process itself was also convenient! And we had delicious homegrown vegetables from our own garden all winter long. It was lovely!
And now, it's time for this week's Encouraging Hearts & Home Blog Hop!
Introducing our team of Co-hosts!
You may learn more about our team, right here!
Thanks for joining in, we appreciate your visits, contributions, and comments!
Linda @ Apron Strings and other things.
Amy @ A Nest in the Rockies.
Jennifer @ Faithful Homestead.
Joanne @ Slices of Life.
Destiny @ Some Call it Destiny, and
Melynda @ Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household.
Join your Encouraging Hearts & Home Co-Hosts each week for encouragement and support for your heart & your home. We hope to provide a space that builds each other up and lends a helping hand along the way. With all the negativity in the world, let's all shine a positive light!
Most Viewed Post from Last Week:
My personal favorites:
This Magazine Wreath. What a fun (and frugal!) craft for kids this summer...from Simple Joys.
This article about The Key to Trust. Depending upon what we each might be going through, this can be a challenge. From A New Lens.
And How to Sew the Ladder Stitch. One can never have too many sewing skills! From French Creek Farmhouse.
And now, what will you be sharing today? Thanks for joining in the fun, here at Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household!
Use the form below to share your family-friendly posts this week, and please consider these nice things you can do:
- Follow and/or subscribe to your host's blog.
- Visit a few other bloggers and show them your support. We all love getting comments, and who knows what inspiration you may find? Be sure to share the love--that's what a blog hop is all about!
- Check out our Encouraging Hearts & Home Pinterest board where each host pins her 10 favorite posts each week.
- Join us every Thursday!
- If you are interested in co-hosting, contact Linda at Apron Strings & Other Things!
Thanks again for hosting this lovely party every week! I know how much time and effort goes into doing so and it is greatly appreciated!! Stay safe, healthy and happy!!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Debbie
Thanks Debbie, I appreciate your dropping by and sharing such great content!
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