Harvesting Peas for the Freezer

Well, the peas are coming on fast and furious.....this is a pic of the Snap Peas we grew this year. As you can see, some of the pods are Pretty Darn Plump, with the peas inside.

I have always grown shell peas, but this year, I knew I had to try Snap Peas. I just don't have the time to spend 3 hours on the porch, shelling massive amounts of shell peas. (I wish)

We picked these snap peas a little late....ideally, the peas should not be so darn plump. But we tried them, and they still tasted absolutely fantastic. So I went ahead and got them ready for the freezer.

Snap peas are eaten shells and all, so that not only saves a lot of time, but you have a much bigger harvest too! Awesome....

I cut the tops off, and put them in some water...set on stove to boil.

Blanched (boiled, not a rolling boil, just a nice boil) for 2 minutes.

Took them off the stove Immediately, and dunked them in cold cold water in the sink. I ran the tap over the top of the colander to speed up the cooling down.

Once cooled, I spread the peas out on cookie sheets, trying hard to get a single layer on each sheet.

Stuck them in the freezer, where I forgot all about them till the following day. Brought them back out, used a spatula to "unstick" them off the cookie sheets, and put them all into one big honking freezer bag.

Now, over the winter, we should be able to shake out however many peas we need for dinner, bring them back to a boil and serve.

Easy to do, really nutritious and really really yummy too! Most frozen veggies are prepared in this exact same way. Blanch 2 minutes, toss in freezer. Do you freeze at least some veggies to use over the winter time?

Next time you are in the grocery store, really look at the price on those bags of frozen broccoli, peas and beans. Think of how much money you could save by doing it this way instead!!

Enjoy!

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