Saving summer bounty

Among the many somewhat neurotic Greek gods Demeter has always been a favorite of mine. Her devotion to her daughter forced her to tread inconsolably the earth barren by her anguish, while Persephone abducted by Hades sojourned in the Inferno. Eventually the situation resolves when Zeus intervenes and divides Persephone’s year in two: one half to be spent on earth with her mother and the other six months to reign with her terrible husband over the realm of Shadows. As fall approaches, one cannot help but recall the goddess of agriculture and seasons. When the garden (whether yours or the farmer markets) produces its last summer firework, it is cost effective to save the results of its labor to consume in winter. Tomatoes and cherry tomatoes finally fruit abundantly. There is a cornucopia of raspberries, string beans and herbs. The last zucchinis and eggplants show off. To retain a little of the summer warmth and do away with the tasteless greenhouse tomatoes, using the freezer is less time consuming than preserving. It is also more true to the product, as it does not require the addition of preservatives. Laziness becomes a virtue. I simply lay raspberries on a cookie sheet, which I then place in the freezer. A couple of hours later, I bag them and return the labeled bags to the freezer. Herbs and string beans are another good candidates for freezing. With minimal care, frozen summer vegetable stock and tomato sauce line up to enrich my future winter meals.

Summer vegetable stock
(Easy, Preparation and cooking time:30 minutes)
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion frozen for 10 minutes
3 garlic cloves
1 leek
2 carrots
Any vegetable available (zucchini, eggplant)
4 cups (1000ml) water

Material
8-quart saucepan
Peeler
Paring knife and board
Strainer

Peel the onion and slice finely. Peel and crush the
garlic cloves.
Slice off the bottom of the leek. Keep the white part and ¼ of the green tops. Slice finely and wash in cold water to remove all the earth. Save a full clean leave for the bouquet garni of the frozen tomato sauce.
Peel and slice the carrots. Wash the zucchini and eggplant.
Pour the olive oil in the saucepan and set on the low range of the gas. Add the onion and garlic. Stir-fry for about three minutes. Add the sliced leek, carrots, zucchini and eggplant and cook for another 5 minutes. Pour the 4 cups of water and simmer for another 20 minutes.
Strain the stock, keeping the vegetables for a salad and to thicken the frozen tomato sauce.
Pour a cup of stock in as many containers as needed. Wait until it is cold to freeze. Label each container with date and content.

Frozen tomato sauce
(Easy, Preparation and cooking time: 30 minutes, Cheap)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
2 lbs (1 kg) tomatoes or cherry tomatoes*
1 bouquet garni (leek leave, a sprig of thyme, sage and laurel leaves, oregano and parsley and any other herbs available)
1 cup cooked vegetables leftovers from the previous recipe

Material:
1 4-quart pot
1 paring knife
1 blender
Plastic containers of 1-cup capacity

Place the onion in the freezer for about ten minutes.
Wash a leek leave, a thyme branch, a sage and a laurel leave, Roll the leek around the other elements and secure by knotting the leek ends together for a twine-free bouquet garni.
Peel and slice the onions.
Place the flat blade of a knife over a garlic clove, and hit it with the other hand. Peel off the skin. Repeat with the other cloves.
Pour the oil in the pan and set the pan on the low range of the gas. Stir-fry the onions and garlic until slightly colored.
Cut the tomatoes in quarter and remove the seeds. If using cherry tomatoes, remove the stems and leave whole.
Add the tomatoes and the bouquet garni.
Cook for about 20 minutes. Retrieve and discard the bouquet garni.
Place in the blender, add a cup of the summer vegetables from the stock and mix.
Pour a cup into as many plastic containers as needed and bring to room temperature prior to freezing.
Label with the date and a description of the content.
* If the tomatoes are slightly acid, add a tablespoon of sugar

Frozen herbs
(Easy, preparation time: 10 minutes)
Ingredients:
A bouquet of basil
A bouquet of mint
A bouquet of chives
A bouquet of dill

Material:
Scissors
Salad spinner
Paper towels
Blender
Plastic bags
Labels

Wash the bouquets separately, gather the leaves and spin in the salad spinner.
For the mint and basil leaves, the technique is the same: align the leaves on top of each other, roll into a tight cigarette and cut into thin bands. Gather a spoonful worth of herb per package, label, date and freeze.
For the chives: clean and dry the chives and snip off the end. Gather a spoonful worth of herb and proceed as highlighted above.
For the dill, place the cleaned leaves in a blender and pulse. Place a tablespoon of the minced herbs into a bag and continue as above.

Frozen string beans
(Easy, Preparation and cooking time:10 minutes, Cheap)
Ingredients:
String beans

Material
Saucepan
Plastic bags and labels

Snip off both end of the string beans.
Pour water in a saucepan and bring to a high boil. Drop the string beans in the water and wait until the boiling resumes.
Strain and refresh the string beans under cool water.
Bag and freeze.