When mother nature gives you lemons, make lemonade. If she gives it to you in excess, pickle them! And, share them with others. That’s what my mother told me! Well, as you know by now…I love experimenting in my kitchen! Pushing my limits and trying things that I have not dared to do before! The idea of freezing fresh produce didn’t strike me until the necessity raised.

When I had a refrigerator wreck at home…only couple days past my huge Indian grocery shopping! I was duped…as it wouldn’t chill anything down beyond certain point! So, the Milk curdled, the vegetables went soggy and all those greens turned yellow!!!  I was lying wide awake in my bed that night, it hit me that I could freeze them! As, luckily the freezer was just fine. Well…I am used to this store bought frozen veggies already and I have no problem with that. Then, the next thought was can I do it perfectly? Back to square one…thought, thought and thought. I went rummaging through the shelves and noticed all the dull looking vegetables! Without any hesitation, headed straight to take up the challenge. Yes, I was in super-rush to salvage my $$ pricey vegetables!

• Wash and clean the vegetables. If it is root vegetables, wash thoroughly to remove the dirt. If it is like pods…shell them up.
• Pat dry them and trim the edges, and if it is too large, chop them down in desired sizes.
• Now, boil water and set these veggies in it to blanch. Blanch is a brief boiling, where the vegetables are still green or colorful enough!
• Remove from heat and plunge them in the cold ice cubes filled water. Give a sudden shock to the cellular walls of the vegetables, so that it wouldn’t lose shape and color.
• You should hold them in cold water, exactly the same time you had them in boiling water!
• And, one more thing…do not over-load the water! Try 1lb or very little for the first batch.
• Then, pat dry them again. Put them in couple of zip-lock bags. Yeah, more than one to prevent freezer burns. If you have a vacuum sealing gun, the job will be even prettier.
• Don’t go over-board and hoard too much in the freezer too, the temperature would shoot up. Limit yourself with two weeks supply. Then, you can shop again.

Did I mention it to you, I did a great job. Kudos to myself. The vegetables stayed very fresh, green and crisp for a really long time. Yep, it made me very happy.