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My friend Lindsay did something fabulously simple last week: She took fresh-from-the-market ears of corn, sliced off the kernels and scooped them into a bag she tossed into her freezer.
With just a little planning, it’s painless to eat seasonal and locally grown foods every month of year.
Think about all the resources it takes to ship out-of-season foods to your grocery. It makes nonseasonal foods much more expensive.
Many fruits and veggies last eight to 12 months in the freezer without any loss in taste or quality. Ones that can go right into the freezer without any extra work are produce such as berries and peppers. Others, like squash and green beans, may require blanching first.
Quart-size plastic freezer bags will usually hold enough produce to serve two people. Use gallon-size for larger families. Find more specific freezing recommendations at doyourpart.com/columns.
You may want to also consider freezing a few make-ahead meals created with summer ingredients to save time, energy and money. I visit my favorite farmers market and stock up on tomatoes. Since tomatoes themselves don’t usually freeze well, I make big batches of tomato sauce.
Most meals can stay in your freezer for up to three months. Mark them with the date and use the oldest first.
