CELERY- GARDEN . . . TO PRESERVED!

CHOPPED CELERY

I have learned to appreciate the flavor that celery adds to pots of soup, casseroles, stews or many other recipes. There was a time when I would buy and sprinkle celery salt, garlic salt or onion salt into recipes, but those days are over.

To get the very best flavor and end up with the healthiest meals, I now resort to basic healthy vegetables, herbs and spices and I will often add very little salt to a recipe.

ADDING CELERY

Celery is one of those tasty vegetables that give food a better taste. For the past 4 years I have bought a few celery plants in spring and by fall they are huge. This year I made the mistake of buying 6 so I now have 75 (1 cup) packages in the freezer and I gave away about 100. If I am making a 14 quart pot of soup I will use 2 bags. If I am making tomato soup, I puree the celery with the onion and garlic so the soup is still nice and smooth.

PRESERVING CELERY

Dig out the plant, cut off the root end and then the outer leaves that are dark green. I leave on the inner lighter green leaves. Split and dice the stalks and greens. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add an ice-cream pail or so full of diced celery and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and drain. Allow to cool and put the celery into zip-lock bags with 1 cup in each. Freeze. This year I blanched 2 heads each day as we were also harvesting our crops.

Once they are frozen, I store them all in a large heavy plastic bags so they are easy to find in the freezer.

For more gardening & celery ideas and hints, check out “WINNING WAYS” cookbook