1 2009-09-20T15:35:55-04:00 false I really want to learn to can, but I never bother because it doesn't seem worth it to do so in small way. However, Gayla Trail's <a href="http://www.yougrowgirl.com/thedirt/2009/09/11/snack-foods-for-the-apocalypse/">Snack food for the apocalypse</a> approach to canning might just win me over. I feel the same way about freezing stuff. My garden is so small that it produces enough for fresh eating, but not a lot more. I have a big bag of frozen beans in the fridge, which seems worth it because it's probably 8 meals worth of beans. I freeze herbs because I hate buying fresh herbs in the winter. And usually every September, when I have too many tomatoes, I make soup starter. Soup starter is just whatever tomatoes you have on hand, plus onion and whatever other veggies you have too much of, cooked about half way and frozen. I don't put any garlic, herbs or salt in it, because the idea is that this is a head start for a soup or a stew, and you'll season that. You start with the onions, cook them until they are soft, then add the tomatoes and cook those for a while, until they are saucey, but still taste raw (I don't peel or seed). Then add other garden stuff in the order in which it cooks (longest stuff first). I use it lots of different ways. If I have left over chicken, I thaw some soup starter, add broth or stock, shred the chicken and make a nice chicken/veg soup. If I'm making stew (veggie or meat), I start with the soup starter, add whatever other ingredients I'm using, and let it cook all day. In a pinch, it can also be made into a sauce for pasta, but I usually don't like it that way. My gramma always made soup starter. I usually make a couple of batches, enough for 5-7 meals, which meets my threshold for being worth it. My tomato crop this year is pathetically small. Just one beefsteak plant. But I'm behind on using those beauties, so I decided to make soup starter with them. I started with onions from the community garden, leeks from my backyard and a carrot from the farmer's market. I added 2-1/2 beefsteak tomatoes, then cheated and added a can of diced tomatoes. Then I dumped in a chopped zuchini from a friend's garden and finally some long beans. I don't usually add beans (I think of those as a main ingredient, while the starter is intended to be background), but I made an exception. Although it's not entirely garden ingredients, and it's not very much (maybe just 1-2 meals), and I cheated by using canned tomatoes, I'm really glad I made it. Maybe small batches are worth it after all. 5 false 68632 false false false Entry 2009-09-20T00:00:00-04:00 DMY Public 2009-09-20T15:35:55-04:00 1713 Sunny 79 F