Tips for surplus garden veggies?

[NYEmomma]

We finally got our garden planted today!

I did tomatoes, grape tomatoes, cucumber, leaf lettuce & zucchini.

Leaf lettuce is new for us this year but I know every single year we plant tomatoes & zucchini, we always end up with surplus that we toss because it's just 3 of us and we can't eat it all before it goes bad.

So I was wondering if anyone had any tips for ways to keep the surplus produce? I've heard of shredding and freezing zucchini & I'm definitely interested in doing that since that means zucchini bread year-round!

But what other options are there? What about canning? My grandma always used to can tomatoes when I was little. I was thinking about it and we DO go through a little of canned diced tomatoes...

 

[pat fan]

There is always giving it to neighbors, but I know some don't appreciate it.

There was an article in our local paper suggesting surplus garden items be donated to the local shelters/food banks/soup kitchens. They can always use some fresh veg!

 

[dislal]

I give tons away to friends and family. It seems like what I grow good my mil doesn't and what she grows good I don't so we always seem to swap our vegetables. I also freeze my extra tomatoes I just wash them boil them peel the skins and put them in gallon size freezer bags, then when I make chili or spaghetti sauces I use them up that way.

 

[lizabu]

We make middle eastern stuffed zucchini and they are so delicious. You need to pick them when they are little. Like the size of a large pickle. You slice off the end with the stem and use an apple corer to hollow out the inside of the zucchini. In a bowl mix some uncooked basmati rice and some ground beef (about 50/50)you don't need much maybe 1/2lb. I mix in a spice mixture I call 7 spices but it's really known as Bokharat. If you don't have an arabic store that sells this you can make your own. It's equal parts ground black pepper, paprika, cumin, ground coriander, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon and ground cardamom but you can use pumpkin pie spice in a pinch. Use the filling to fill the zucchinis. Stuff the stem in the opening sideways to seal them shut. Put them in the crockpot and add a can of tomato paste. Rinse the can into the pot and add enough water to cover and cook on high for about 3 hours. You can cook them much faster on the stove with a pot with a lid but I like to use the crockpot. I serve it with some nice Greek yogurt beside it.

Another option is too cook the squash blossoms. Fill them with a mixture of ricotta and parmesan cheeses. Batter and deep fry.

 

[Pigeon]

I make big pots of marinara and tomato soup and freeze them in dinner sized containers. I'll also freeze minestrone made with a variety of late summer veggies,.

 

[jjsmom]

I can't imagine why anyone would not be thrilled to receive a neighbor's/friends surplus produce. But that's just me. Anyway, most produce can be chopped and frozen and can be used in soups, casseroles, sauces at a later date.

Oh I have a funny story that happened just today.We took a day trip to a nearby tourist destination (but in another state). We stopped at a popular corner store and a few old guys had a produce stand set up. Anyway for fun we purchased a few $1 scratchoffs. Well, one was good for $2. We went in to cash it, and the counter closed at 6:00. So, knowing we wouldn't be travelling to the neighboring state any time soon, we bartered the $2 ticket for produce. We ended up with about 6 lbs of tomatoes for the price of 2 lbs.

 

[NYEmomma]

Oh trust me, I am typically BEGGING people to take these vegetables off my hands! My parents always have a garden too so they only take what they're not growing themselves. And last year when we didn't put in a garden, my next door neighbor caught wind of it & we had care packages of her excess tomatoes almost every other day. Lol.

This is all just more fodder for me to use when trying to convince hubby that a deep freezer is a wise investment. I can definitely cook up big portions of spaghetti suace.

 

[riley2008]

Here's what we've been doing in additiona to giving all that we can away:

Tomatoes - cherry tomatoes we just give away, they're too much trouble to do anything with imo; large ripe tomatoes I drop in boiling water for about 30 seconds and let cool - peel slips right off; slice them and remove seeds and stem; slice, dice, put in the chopper or puree, then pour into 1 cup ziploc plastic containers and freeze (without lids); later in the day, run them under hot water and put the frozen blocks in ziploc bags and toss back into the freezer [my mom cooks them with spices or makes a marinade of some sort before freezing]

Squash and zucchini (and carrots) - use the salad shooter to grate; freeze in 2c portions; we just made the BEST zucchini cake/bread with a carrot cake recipe! (subbed the carrots for zucchini)

I am about to try zucchini relish. Got the recipe from a coworker.

HTH - enjoy (sounds like yours will be starting just as ours is coming to an end!)

Cucumbers - pickles and relish are the only things I can think of; I did grate the cucumers one time for a nice slaw/relish side

 

[mrodgers]

I can't imagine why anyone would not be thrilled to receive a neighbor's/friends surplus produce.

I can't imagine why anyone would have a surplus of garden vegetables.

All those tomatoes, they are chili and spaghetti sauce all year long. Corn, cut it off and it is garden corn all year long. Can't eat that frozen crap from the store. It is such a difference even being frozen from the garden.

We freeze everything. Tomatoes, corn, peppers, and whatever else we would plant. Heck, the garden isn't for summer eating, it is for getting the freezer stocked up to have yummy food all winter instead of all the tasteless crap from the grocery store.

We haven't had luck with the garden for the past few years. I just tilled up a new section of yard and planted 6 rows of corn, 12 tomato plants, 1 cucumber and 1 zucchini and a small section with some Romaine lettuce, spinach, and the little green onions (scallions?) I'm kicking myself because we looked at the plants, then went inside and browsed around. When we came out to get the plants we wanted, we forgot peppers.

I cut the new garden down to about half what the old one was. 30x40 foot was too unmanageable with weeds. That and the ground is pretty dead of nutrients along with right next to the field, I moved it to the other side of the property. We're a week late getting it in, but that's not too bad.

 

[NYEmomma]

Thanks so much for the advice guys!

So is there ANYTHING that doesn't freeze well? And is there anything that you can't really make with your frozen vegetables? For example, could I slice & freeze some zucchini then later on thaw them and saute them?

I just imagine that they'd get a bit mushy or deteriorate slightly being in the freezer and so frozen veggies would be better used in baking, sauces, the things other people have already mentioned.

 

[RangerPooh]

Can you donate them to the local food bank? In my area we have something called a Backyard Harvest where surplus garden veggies are collected and sold to families similar to a CSA (commujnity supported agriculture) so that the items aren't wasted.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Can you donate them to the local food bank? In my area we have something called a Backyard Harvest where surplus garden veggies are collected and sold to families similar to a CSA (commujnity supported agriculture) so that the items aren't wasted.

I was just coming to post this!

I read about this program or one similar to it in the Tri-City Herald a few weeks ago!

 

[maggiew]

I use the tomatoes and peppers from my garden to make salsa. I use the Ball book of canning recipe. We just finished the last jar, so looking forward to making some new.

We don't usually plant zucchini, but if we ever have extra from people giving it to us or whatever, we make a zucchini parmesan just like eggplant parmesan.

Maggie

 

[budafam]

I freeze & can. My MIL has an acre garden so we usually have a canning party at the end of the year where we make salsa, tomato sauce, etc. I love making zucchini pancakes (kinda like potato pancakes) and peppers freeze well too. I always have a ton of those for the winter months when they cost so much in the stores.

 

[Pigeon]

Lots of veggies freeze better if you blanch them quickly in boiling water before you freeze. Otherwise, they get mushy. Google blanching vegetables for freezing and you'll find lots of sites with instructions.

 

[pat fan]

Okay, here's a question. I buy frozen pepper strips at the grocery store because they are so convenient for throwing in eggs etc...but I want to do my own.

I planted a bunch of pepper plants, but how do I freeze them? Blanch, cool, slice & freeze?

 

[GinnyEmma]

I am dehydradating zucchini. And tomatoes are salsa'd, canned or frozen. Will try drying also.

 

[Colleen27]

I blanch and freeze a lot more than I can. I save canning for finished products like salsa and jam and stewed/diced tomatoes. Everything else goes into the freezer. If you're careful about blanching times frozen veggies work just fine for stir fry, soups, sauces, almost anything you'd use fresh for.

 

[bettymae1121]

Okay, here's a question. I buy frozen pepper strips at the grocery store because they are so convenient for throwing in eggs etc...but I want to do my own.

I planted a bunch of pepper plants, but how do I freeze them? Blanch, cool, slice & freeze?

I don't bother to blanch peppers, I just dice and freeze. They do cook up soft, so if you're looking for a good *snap* that might not be the way to go.

 

[pat fan]

They do cook up soft, so if you're looking for a good *snap* that might not be the way to go.

The ones I use now cook up soft, so I don't care about that. Sweet! Thanks for the tips!