Last summer I started learning preserving. I wanted to be able to eat locally all year, avoid preservatives in food and save money. I did a great job of it, we had a wide variety of jams to enjoy through the winter and plenty of veggies frozen. This year I’m behind, I didn’t put up any asparagus or rhubarb, and I know I’ll be kicking myself for not having any on-hand when I feel like eating some. I did make 10 jars of strawberry jam with honey, which will taste incredible on toast or stirred into oatmeal on cold winter mornings. I’ve also already made and frozen 6 bags of marinara sauce which isn’t nearly enough, but there is time left on fresh tomatoes. This week I realized that summer is coming to an end and if I want to eat well this winter it’s time to step up the preserving before it’s too late, so I bought just under 6 lbs of broccoli at the market yesterday for $6, and a few bunches of parsley to dry for $1.50.

I would recommend preserving food to anyone. It’s not always easy and it does take time but it’s worth it to have a freezer and cabinet stocked with food that hasn’t travelled 3000 miles to get to your door. Plus, having a selection on hand prevents unnecessary trips to the grocery store and you never end up eating tasteless, out of season produce. Check out The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving and The Busy Person’s Guide to Preserving Food for instructions and recipes.

My simple method of freezing broccoli is adapted from the Busy Person’s Guide, and is a great place to start for beginning preservers.

Remove any leaves from broccoli, wash and chop
Blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes
Remove and quickly cool, using ice or under running water
Let dry and put as much as you typically use at once in freezer safe bags

blanched broccoli, drying

my strawberry jam