A Bountiful Garden

One of the best things about summer in the Midwest is a bountiful garden. Some of the best tasting food on earth comes from the soil we tend on our own land. We prepare the soil, add the seeds and water carefully. There is so much excitement when the first green shoots poke through. Now when I say we tend, what I really mean is my husband does most of the work to get the garden going and I prepare and preserve most of the food that comes from his hard work. Its a great partnership! I often try to come up with creative ways to use our bountiful supply of fresh vegetables.

A Bountiful Garden

In the Summer we wait patiently until our first vegetables are ready to harvest. Then comes the overabundance of green beans, corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and many others. Once you have tasted fresh garden produce, you are often reluctant to return to the vegetables in the supermarket.

We eat many meals where the vegetables are the main part of the meal. I try new recipes and dig out my tried and true favorites. We share our garden harvest with family and friends. After we have shared with everyone we know, we get down to preserving part of the harvest for winter.

Preserving A Bountiful Garden Harvest

Pressure or Water Bath Canning

One way we make use of our extra vegetables is to preserve them by canning. Canning green beans is one of my favorites. We all enjoy these beans when the snow arrives and the garden is just a memory until next year. I receive so  much satisfaction from this process. I am using the bountiful harvest that God has provided. As a family we are saving money and resources when we preserve our extra food . We are eating the food that we tended from seed to table. Canning is not easy by any means. It is hot and tiring work but there is such a sense of satisfaction when the day is complete. When the task is finally done I look over at the jars cooling on the counter and feel grateful for all we have been given.

We usually can tomatoes, green beans, and corn. These make great additions to many meals over the next months. Garden preserved food is especially good in the winter when we can't find vegetables at the grocery that look or taste good.

Freezing

Another way to preserve food is by freezing. We usually freeze a large amount of corn. We eat this frozen corn until the next garden season. We use in recipes such as vegetable soup and as a side dish.

We freeze tomatoes, onions, peppers, corn, and zucchini. All of these vegetables taste great over the colder months. They all freeze very well.

There are other ways of preserving a garden harvest that I do not use as much such as dehydrating. I want to learn more about dehydration to add to my list of methods of food preservation.

A bountiful garden harvest is a wonderful way to share with others and help feed my family over the long winter months. It is such a good feeling to look upon the shelves that are lined with preserved food and know you can prepare dinner quickly with food that was grown in your own home garden.