Preserving

Monday, January 24, 2011

Stored Harvest Recipes 01/24/2011

Since it has been so cold out and I have no harvests to post, I thought that I would share a couple of recipes that we have made recently from our stored harvests. Sorry, no pictures....I have been forgetting to take pictures of our meals lately.

The first recipe is my favorite lately.....and it's quick and easy!!

Leek & Potato Soup
  • 3-4 Tbsp. Butter
  • 3-4 Leeks, thinly sliced (about 8 oz)
  • 1 medium to large onion, chopped
  • 6-8 medium size potatoes, thinly sliced with skins on
  • 3-4 Cups Stock (chicken or vegetable)
  • 1 Cup Cream (I use light cream)
  • Salt & Pepper to taste if desired (I don't add any)
  1. Over medium heat, melt butter in large saucepan, add leeks and onions. Cook stirring occasionally until limp.
  2. Add potatoes and then add just enough stock to cover the potatoes. Cook over medium heat until the potatoes are tender.
  3. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher until the desired consistency. The soup will thicken as you mash them. Cook on low until soup thickens a bit.
  4. Add cream and salt & pepper if desired and cook about 15-20 minutes on low heat. Make sure that you stir it occasionally to avoid burning!
The second recipe we made this week using frozen sliced eggplant, canned tomatoes, homemade breadcrumbs and our dried herbs. This recipe takes some time to prepare, so we made two pans and gave one to "The Italians" parents to cook for dinner. You could always freeze one and cook it later.

Eggplant Parmesan
  • Sliced Eggplant - skins on
  • Eggs, beaten
  • Bread crumbs with some seasonings and Parmasen Cheese
  • Olive Oil
  • Tomato sauce
  • Grated Mozzarella Cheese
  • Grated Parmesan, Romano Cheese or your favorite hard grating cheese
  1. Pour enough olive oil to fry eggplant in a large frying pan on medium high heat.
  2. Dip eggplant in eggs, then in bread crumbs covering both sides.
  3. Place the eggplant slices in to the hot oil, cook on one side, turn then cook on the other side until golden brown. Place on paper towel or towel to absorb oil.
  4. This process takes some time and is a little messy.
  5. Next, if you don't have your own "Italian" to make you a basic red tomato sauce, you will have to make your own! A tomato sauce of onions a little garlic, oregano, basil and tomatoes is perfect.
  6. Assemble in an appropriate size baking pan for the amount of eggplant you have and layer as follows; tomato sauce, eggplant, mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, eggplant......etc.
  7. When you are finished layering, end with tomato sauce and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
  8. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes, or until bubbling.
If we are making it to freeze for a later date, we don't bake it. It will take longer to bake when frozen and you may need to add a little extra sauce.

I hope that you don't mind my lack of measurements. That is how we normally cook, except for baking.

Stop by Daphne's Dandelions our host of Harvest Monday to see what others are harvesting or how they are using their harvests!

19 comments:

  1. I didn't know that you can freeze eggplant. That is good to know.

    Last year I didn't grow and eggplant or leeks, but both will be a new vegetable in the garden this year.
    I will copy these two recipes, as I will definitely need them this year.

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  2. Mojo, I freeze sliced eggplant and zucchini. I just slice them, place them on paper on a baking tray and place in the freezer for a couple of hours. When they are firm, I put them in bags and back in to the freezer for long time storage. I have read that you can blanch them first. I do not do that, I think that they would get too soft.

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  3. Must admit to s lug of white wine in my leek and potato soup - decadence!

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  4. Above should read a slug (and not the slimy kind) Maybe a dash or a glug or some other word would have been better

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  5. GLA, I use wine in a lot of my cooking. I will have to add some to the soup the next time I make it. Thanks!!

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  6. Check your post heading! Is it really February already? lol

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  7. Marcia, Thanks so much for bringing that to my attention!! I was really trying to push things forward a bit since we are supposed to have a mild March :) It's -1 right now!!

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  8. I never thought to freeze eggplant either. Great idea.

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  9. Love your header photo! I actually go ahead and bake the eggplant parmesan and then freeze it for later use. I like to make the red sauce with fresh tomatoes too. I haven't tried freezing the eggplant first. Last year we had such a lousy harvest for it that we barely had enough to eat!

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  10. Villager, Thanks, I thought the page needed a little update. I was getting tired of seeing last year's garden pics. It's better for us to freeze the eggplant and zucchini plain, since "The Italian" has many different recipes in which he uses them.

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  11. Your recipes sound delicious!! I love love love eggplant parmesan!! Thanks for sharing....now I'm hungry! =0)

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  12. Good stuff! Do you freeze your eggplant slices raw or blanch them first or...? I grill eggplant slices and freeze them and use them to make Eggplant Parmesan.

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  13. Holly, I'm happy that this post made you hungry. I always get hungry after reading Villager's posts!

    Michelle, I freeze the slices raw. I think that they would get too soft if I blanched them first!

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  14. Great Recipes...I didn't know you could freeze eggplant! Great! I'll try it with my next crop :)

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  15. Yum! I have lots of potatoes but no leeks this year and did not grow any eggplant - but I am wishing I had both on hand because both recipes sound quite delicious right now. :D

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  16. Oh my, that eggplant parmesan sounds so good, we make something similar but I think yours sounds better.:) I'm so glad to hear that we aren't the only ones that cook without measurements.

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  17. I tend not to use exact amounts either for recipes. Just toss it in. Things are changed at will.

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  18. Mr. H & Daphne, The only time I really use measurements is for baking and jellies & jams. I always say that I'm a dumper. I dump a little of this and that.

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  19. I love potato and leek soup! It's been a staple at our house this winter. I especially like to add bacon to ours!

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