[quote=Blogstar]I used parmesan from Wisconsin today in the pesto, buy it in bulk and it sits in the freezer quite well. It tastes great! Grew the basil, that will definitely pay taxes on my next Oreo shake. I freeze the pesto for winter along with Spaghetti sauce for the kids, made with tomatoes, peppers and onions I grew. There is enough of both to have it every other week with leftovers. Most stay at home parents probably don’t do this stuff but I do.
There are about 75 bottles of frozen watermelon juice in there too, organic all not taxed.
How much could you save making your own Oreo shakes?[/quote]
Hijack alert –
Russ – how are you packaging the pesto and tomato sauce. Are you going through the full canning process? Using zip lock bags?
We have a boatload of tomatoes and a boatload of basil this year. We’ve been trying to keep up with Pesto pizza, pesto pasta, etc… but we want to freeze some too. Same with red sauces – we’ve been making batches 2-3 times a week. More than we can consume – so we’ve been giving sauces to neighbors. But we’d like to set some in for the winter.
Costco has a great deal on ball jars for canning. I looked online for how to can tomato sauces and it looks like, because of the acidity, etc, it’s more involved than typical canning. Not just a hot bath – but a pressure cooker is needed. I’m not ready to buy another appliance. We do have a big/deep steamer pot that we can use for a water bath. Any tips?
Edited to add:
We’ve had great luck doing a blanch and ziplock freeze for other garden veggies like green beans. But I’m new to the canning process. Our sauces have really become awesome this year – and I’d love to be able to have them in the winter.
