It was the turn of the Spinach to be harvested yesterday.
Just the leaves that were nice and big, the rest of the plants are still in their bed in the polytunnel and by next week there will be enough to do an action replay. That's the beauty of Perpetual Spinach, if I'm nice to the plants they will continue to produce for a long time yet, and I am nice to them, I've been giving them lots of lovely plant food and fresh compost went down around them yesterday to help them recover from this brutal stripping of all their assets :-)
The stems were cut off, and made a tasty snack for the chickens .... I'm very good to those chickens, as swapping spinach stems for fresh free range eggs seems like a very good deal to me. The leaves were all washed, shook a bit and then popped straight into a pan in batches. The water left on the leaves is enough to stop them sticking to the bottom of the pan until they release some of their own juices.
After about three minutes they were pretty wilted so I scooped them from the pan and plunged straight into iced water to halt the cooking process. With dark green leaves doing this means that they will keep their rich green colour while in the freezer and it also stops them from overcooking.
Once cooled, I squeezed out as much of the excess water as I could ...
... and then sat the spinach balls on some kitchen paper to drain even more.
After a few minutes they were put onto a lined tray and put into the freezer to open freeze. This only took a couple of hours and then they were put into a bag. Next week hopefully a second batch will join them.
And all the juices left in the pan after cooking and in the bowl after squeezing the balls was used a vegetable stock. I simply added a couple of handfuls of 'soup mix' with some extra lentils, brought it all to the boil and simmered it for half an hour, and we had a big bowlful of Vegetable Broth each for lunch.
Next the Kale ...... :-)
Sue xx
A lovely process.
ReplyDeleteCalmingly repetitive and very satisfying :-)
DeleteBrilliant plan! My greens have been munched by snails and caterpillars whilst I've been on holiday so I'll cut them back and hope they can regrow before winter! Katie
ReplyDeletehttp://long-may-she-rain.blogspot.co.uk
You should be lucky, with a bit of feed and, fingers crossed, some sunshine, you have enough time to get a lovely crop. If the weather stays relatively mild you can harvest spinach and other greens for quite a while yet, even grown outdoors.
DeleteExcellent idea, Sue...I would never have thought of freezing spinach balls. I'm curious as to what you will do with the kale. Such an industrious person you are! Have a happy weekend.
ReplyDeleteHaha .... don't get too excited Linda, it's pretty similar to what I did to the spinach :-)
DeleteHow do you cook the spinach balls from frozen ?
ReplyDeleteSometimes I leave them to thaw on the fridge for the day, or I drop them into the pan I'm cooking pasta in (if I don't mind them mingling together). Alternatively you can thaw them in the microwave or just thaw them gently and slowly in a warm pan.
DeleteI've done the same with my beetroot tops. Its great to stir in a little ball to pasta or in an omelette. I love not wasting anything.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder, I'm harvesting the beetroot crop later this week. It would be a shame not to make full use of it. :-)
DeleteI love spinach. fab idea
ReplyDeleteHi Sue, catching up on a weeks worth of posts, it's great to see al your produce being used and nothing wasted, perfect. The entrance walls and gates look fab, looking forward to seeing what you plant in the beds there. Have a great weekend :)
ReplyDeleteBrilliant; we do love spinach at our house.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to like this post but couldnt i hate spinach
ReplyDeleteI grew it once and fed the lot to the geese
Haha ..... well I bet they were happy.
DeleteIt's worth growing Perpetual Spinach just to feed to geese and hens. It really gives them a concentrated vitamin and mineral boost, and makes their eggs even more nutritious for us to eat .... as well as making them very happy.
Oh I am not a fan of spinach, either, but I love that top picture! Even the green dish soap adds charm to it. Just lovely. :)
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to make my own spinach balls - great for leftovers from a large bag that needs eating up. Thanks Sue :)
ReplyDeleteYou can also freeze bagged spinach as it is. Just seal up the bag after giving it a good shake to loosen all the leaves. Once frozen just take out of the freezer exclude all the air and reseal before putting back into the freezer.
DeleteMy mum adores spinach with lemon. Either that, or my stepfather adores making her eat it.
ReplyDeleteI have thoroughly enjoyed browsing your blog. Everything is so lovely and cozy and definitely inspirational.
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