I mention freezing things in some of the recipes, but I thought I'd put a few of the important things together in one place for easy reference. These are just some of the things you can do with a freezer. My freezer is very small. It's just the top part of the fridge, so I tend to use it for the things I feel are the most convenient and time saving. You'll undoubtedly be able to think of a lot more ways of using your freezer if you want to.
Soups
You'll notice that a lot of the soup recipes make massive amounts of soup. That's
because I usually make soup in such quantities and freeze half of it. Figure
out how much soup you normally use for one meal and put that amount in a plastic
freezer bag. For example, I use about ten ladles full if my daughter is at home,
but now that she's studying away, I freeze soup in seven-ladle batches. Get
someone to hold the bag while you fill it, or if there's no one around find
a pot that is big enough to hold the amount you require, but narrow enough to
fold the edges of the bag over the edges of the pot. Line the pot with the bag,
fold the edges over and fill with soup. Gather up the edges of the bag and lift
it out of the pot. Rest the bag on a surface and carefully let most of the excess
air out then tie a knot in it.
You don't need to thaw the soup completely before removing it from the bag and heating it. Leave the bag in a pot of cold water for half an hour then cut the knot off with a pair of scissors. You should be able to peel the bag off the lump of soup.
Beans (see also 'cooking
beans and pulses')
Cooking beans can be a right pain. I find it best to soak and cook a kilo of
dried beans at one time. That will produce over two kilos of cooked beans. Not
only does it get it all over with in one go, but the beans actually seem to
cook better in larger quantities. They go softer quicker. Don't ask me why.
They don't boil dry so easily either if you cook them in larger amounts.
The above notes on freezing soups apply equally well to freezing beans. For quantity I would suggest about four or five hundred grams per bag.
Cutlets
Again, it's easier to make a pile of cutlets rather than one or two, so why
not freeze some. Mould the mix into cutlet shapes and dust them in flour. Lay
them side by side, but not touching, on sheets of baking paper or aluminium
foil in the freezer. You can pile them up in layers. When they've frozen solid,
seal them in bags and return to the freezer.
Fresh herbs
These usually come in large amounts or not at all. If you grow them, you've
got more than you can use in summer and none in winter. If you buy them in the
shop you often get seasonal deals on big bunches. The easiest and most successful
way of freezing them I've found, is to chop them finely in a cup using a pair
of scissors, then pack them into ice-cube trays. This involves a lot of cutting
and probably blistered fingers, but it's worth it. When the cubes have frozen,
pop them out of the trays and seal them in bags. Don't mix different cubes in
the same bag, and it might be a good idea to label them.
Tomatoes
I use tomatoes all the time. My wife and I both love them. I hate having to
use tinned tomatoes or paste so I usually freeze some in one form or another
when I know they're going to become scarce. If you grow them this is an especially
good idea. Peel the tomatoes by covering them with boiling
water for two minutes, draining them and slitting the skins with a sharp knife.
After that the skins will almost fall off. Cut out the end with the green bit
in it, and burst open the tomato with your fingers. Drain out most of the seeds
and water and give what's left a rough chop. Freeze them in bags as above. Don't
skimp on bags. Freeze small amounts. Fresh summer tomatoes will be a precious
commodity when it comes time to use them and you can use two bags if you have
to.
I sometimes make a tomato sauce to stash in the freezer. It's
very simple and I often add sweet red peppers to it. Click
here for the recipe.