Storing for winter
I see signs of summer’s impending departure all around — hurricanes wheeling up the coast, pumpkins piled in front of the grocery store, and rusty leaves peppering the canopy of green. I cannot say I’m sorry, because even though summer brings us the very best of local fruit and produce, we are lucky to live in a state where every season brings something beautiful.
Soon it will be autumn, and then it will be time to think about using up the last of our garden bounty and stocking up for winter. This time of year, I always think about my childhood affinity for the “Little House on the Prairie” books, which I read over and over again. Pa and Ma Ingalls would salt cure hams in their hollow tree chimney and store potatoes in the cellar for winter. It was an absolute necessity for them borne out of a need to survive the long, harsh winter. They had no grocery store on the corner; no farmers market in town.
My mother and I spoke over the phone last night, and she mentioned something about my Grandmother Nair I had never heard. She said Grandma used to strip her tomato plants of all the green fruit at the end of the season, then store them between sheets of newspaper in a basket, which was kept in a cool, dry place. And they ripened there! Supposedly, Grandma once enjoyed her own ripe, garden tomatoes at Christmas. But this was the same woman who could keep a poinsettia alive and blooming for years.
During the same conversation, Mom asked me for help finding a recipe. I found that appropriate seeing as how I’ve published so many of her recipes that she’s jokingly threatened to charge me royalties. Mom said she had a wonderful summer squash custard pie made from the grated flesh of squash that had grown too large for cooking the standard way. Someone removed the seeds and grated the flesh, then baked it into a custard filling. I did a little digging around online, but most of the summer squash pie recipes I see call for steaming and pureeing smaller summer squash. Does anybody have a recipe like the one my mother seeks?
I’d love to hear about some of the winter storage methods that have been passed down through generations here in the South. Let’s share advice about how to keep food over, other than canning or freezing. For one thing, I’ve heard onions can be hung in a pair of old pantyhose, with a knot tied between each one. What else?
September 3, 2010 - 12:05 PM
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What a fun topic! I only wish that I had something to contribute!
I would try a pumpkin pie recipe, after all pumpkin is a squash.
This website has lots of recipes…maybe your mom can find one that she can use.
http://www.ifood.tv/network/amish_squash_pie/recipes
I found one that sounds similar – it calls for zucchini but I bet you could use any summer squash.
Zucchini Pie
Real Simple
(originally posted by SueK)
3 cups grated zucchini
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup grated provolone cheese (I usually use Gruyere)
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 350F. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, reserving 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan. Spoon the zucchini mixture into a 10-inch round glass pie plate or metal pie pan that has been coated with vegetable cooking spray. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with the reserved Parmesan. Cool 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.
My dad would preserve some green beans by making leather britches. I loved them. Completely different flavor from the canned ones. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1838917/preserve_garden_green_beans_by_making.html
We had a cellar while I was growing up and it was amazing what my Mom could keep through the winter! She tied onions as you described above – apples and pears were carefully placed on a cut-down mat on shallow shelves in single rows to avoid bruising and rot. She also knotted long strings of garlic and peppers. She “sun-dried” tomatoes by placing them on sheets in the car on very hot days. She was an avid canner – canning everything from Venison to preserves to hot peppers.
Jennifer, I think the recipe Mom’s looking for is a sweet one, but that recipe looks DELICIOUS, also! Thanks for posting.
Ron, what is a cut-down mat? I can Google it…
My mother canned venison and squirrel in addition to all of the vegetables she preserved. That hot car trick is a great idea! I have heard about putting fresh herbs in a paper sack and placing that in a hot car until they are dried.
I use my dehydrator to preserve herbs, onions and peppers. I’ve lost too many onions half way thru the fall even after hanging them to dry properly, and had too many peppers rot in the fridge before I could use them up. Now, I rough chop them so they won’t fall thru the grated rings, then once dry I store them in zip-type bags in the fridge. They last all winter and it’s easy to just add a handful to soups, stews, chili, etc.
I have a recipe for squash pudding pie that calls for grated summer squash, could it be the same thing?? If so, I can post it later today…
My father told me one time that they stored apples in a hollowed out hole under tree roots in the woods.. Apparently they lasted all winter like that.
That sounds very promising, Julie! I’d love to see it.
Maria, that sounds just crazy enough to be true. Haha. But how did they keep bears and raccoons and such from getting at them, I wonder? And bugs? Must have wrapped them or something.
Lindsey – it was just an old industrial sponge (I could have been more specific!) that my Mom shaved down to about half an inch. It kept the fruit from contact bruising.
Okay, here’s the recipe for the squash pudding pie:
Prepared 9″ or 10″ pie crust for single (bottom) crust pie
3 cups (loosely packed) shredded raw summer squash, peeled and seeded (or use winter squash for a more pumpkin like taste)
2 cups milk
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup brown sugar lightly packed
1 tsp. cinnamon, plus some for dusting
1 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
2 Tbs. melted butter
Dash of salt
Add milk, sugar, butter and spices to eggs; mix well. Fold in squash and stir until well coated. Pour into prepared pie crust and bake in center of oven at 325 degrees for 1 hr., until filling is set in center. Let cool 15 min. then dust lightly with cinnamon. Best if served warm with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream. You may need to cover the edge of the crust with foil to keep it from getting too brown. Note: I usually have a little extra pie filling, which bakes really well in a small casserole dish (or ramekins!) if you butter the bottom and sides.
I think we may have hit the jackpot with your recipe, Julie! I’m going to e-mail it to Mom and tell her she can thank me by making one
Ahem… We can discuss my finder’s fee later!!!
Hahaha!! Mom said she’s going to try and make it tonight. If you want to drive to Alleghany County, she’d probably give you a slice
That would probably translate to 40 or 50 calories per mile
Maybe jogging would be better? Bwahahahaha