Winter Storage

Filling my pantry and freezer with tasty treats for future days gives me an abnormally high sense of satisfaction and enjoyment.  Absolutely LOVE seeing rows and rows of those red tomatoes, golden peaches, and spicy salsas.  There's something oddly thrilling about opening up that freezer door and seeing shelf after shelf stocked full of summer goodness and baked treasures.

So that's what I spent my last weekend of non-teaching freedom doing:  putting a few more treats in the freezer.  I have a few plans for a few more before the teaching plunge begins, but I am quite happy with what I put up this past season-- especially when I comfort myself with the reminder of being on near-constant bed rest for almost 7 weeks of this fabulous summer break.

If you follow me much, you are already aware of my fan-tabulous jams and salsas that I loved making (and tasting!).  If you missed it, feel free to catch up ---> here and here or even here.  But if you just want that sweet [eh, ehhhh... see what I did there?!] reminder, here's a few photos:

Here we have the always popular peach and plum jams {can we say: pb&j for days?!}

   

Also a crowd favorite are the fruity salsas and canned sunshine peaches!

   

My newest love... tomato jam, with stewed tomatoes singing back up.

A peak at that yummy salsa with a tease of  cinnamon stick in the spiced peaches...

   

Never before seen footage:  mixed berry oatmeal bars.  I cut these yummies into little bars, wrapped each one up, and stuck the whole lot of them into a freezer bag.  Ready for school lunches!

What to do with that "cannot resist a deal from the farmer's market" box of tomatoes?  Well, let's roast 'em and freeze 'em!  This was my inspiration, and I loved it!

         

If you are ever on a game show, and the host asks you:

"What is the #1 way to single-handedly sabotage the diet of Leah Gibson?"

Here is your simple reply:  carbs.  The answer is always carbs.

So, naturally.  I had to make some and freeze some.  I am of the strong opinion that I could put just about anything in a fresh piece of naan or wrap it up in one of my soft, dreamy tortillas, dunk it in a zippy dip, and call it a win! [*No data has been collected for this claim.  Views and opinions are based solely on the personal experiences and preferences of this blog writer.]

 

Who knew you could freeze whole tomatoes?!  Not this girl, that's for sure.  But I gave it a whirl this year!  I cored these puppies, then popped them right in a freezer bag.  [Also, as a disclaimer:  I did use a straw to suck out ever last little bit of air that is humanly possible from each of those freezer bags.  I regret nothing.]

So, there you have it.  All these yummy treats help me look forward to those long days ahead.  There is no greater joy to my heart than having yummers for all the tummers of my sweet Gibson Gang!