Cornucopia of Produce – El cuerno de la abundancia agrícola
Douglas and I find ourselves in a unique place every spring, where we are given the choice of free grocery products. We normally chose some meat, freeze it, and enjoy a great deal of barbecue over the summer. However, in April I decided to become a vegetarian, and Douglas has been supporting me by not eating meat either. That meant that we had to pick out an equal dollar amount of fruits and vegetables. It was a lot of fresh produce! This is what we received on the third week, so about half of what we received in total.
Cada año en mayo, Douglas y yo recibimos mucha comida gratis; es una situación bastante única. Normalmente, escogemos carne, la congelamos y la cocinamos a la parrilla durante el verano. Este año fue diferente porque en abril yo decidí convertirme en vegetariana y Douglas tampoco ha estado comiendo la carne para apoyarme. Eso significaba que teníamos que escoger una cantidad de frutas y verduras con un valor igual en dólares. ¡Fueron muchísimos productos frescos! Esto es lo que recibimos la tercera semana y la mitad, más o menos, de lo que recibimos en total.
There was no way that we were going to be able to eat all of this before it would spoil. Therefore we needed a way to preserve it. We started with the melons, using our new blender to juice them.
No había manera de que íbamos a poder comer todo eso antes de que se pudriera, así que teníamos que preservarlo de alguna manera. Empezamos con los melones, usando la nueva licuadora para hacer jugo de melón.
In the end we had a growler plus two jars of melon juice. In a week, it was gone. I found that melon juice with a little lemonade was a delicious beverage.
Al final, teníamos una jarra grande (de las que se llaman growlers en inglés y normalmente se usan para cerveza) y dos jarras pequeñas de jugo de melón. Después de una semana había desaparecido – me había dado cuenta de que el jugo de melón con un poquito de limonada era una bebida deliciosa.
Douglas peeled all of the corn, and then cut the kernels off to freeze.
Douglas peló todo el maíz y después cortó todos los granos para congelarlos.
We now have ten and a quarter quart-sized bags of corn in our freezer to use in the upcoming months, or we have a bit less than that because we have already been using it.
Ahora hay diez bolsas y cuarto de las del tamaño de un litro en el congelador para usar en los próximos meses. Bueno, ya hay un poquito más porque hemos usado un poco.
The tomatoes were chopped in the food processor.
Usamos el procesador de alimentos para picar los tomates.
I had chopped three quart bags worth in the food processor the week before. Then for dinner one night Douglas put six in the blender to make spaghetti sauce. The problem with that was that the blender liquidated the tomatoes, and the sauce while delicious, was thin. Therefore, the next day, he utilized the food processor to finish the rest of the tomatoes for another four bags. There will be a lot of spaghetti sauce and tomato soup in our near future.
Yo había picado lo suficiente para tres bolsas de un litro en el procesador de alimentos la semana anterior. Después, Douglas había usado la licuadora para hacer una salsa para el espagueti. El problema era que licuó a los tomates y la salsa estaba demasiada fina. Entonces, el día siguiente sacó el procesador para terminar con los tomates. Habrá mucha salsa o sopa de tomate en nuestro futuro cercano.
Next, I needed to juice a ton of lemons. Thankfully, we received a citrus juicer for our wedding that made this task a lot easier. I filled a growler with lemon juice, but it is all gone by now. I added a splash to every glass of water that I drank for a week, and I drink gallons of water. A couple of days later Douglas used the citrus juicer to juice the grapefruits as well, or at least the grapefruits that we had not yet eaten, because we did eat a lot. That juice is gone already as well.
Después yo tenía que licuar los limones también. Menos mal que recibimos una licuadora cítrica para nuestra boda que me hizo mucho más fácil. Llené otra jarra grande de jugo de limón, pero ya no queda ni una gotita. Yo estaba añadiendo un poquito a cada vaso de agua que estaba bebiendo por unas semanas y ¡bebo mucha agua! Unos días después, Douglas usó la misma licuadora para sacar el jugo de las toronjas que quedaban también. Ya habíamos comido muchas de ellas. Ese zumo ya se bebió también.
If you are wondering what happened to the rinds, husks and other byproducts, they were added to the compost pile. Next spring they will be added to our gardens in the form of nutrient filled soil.
Si te estás preguntando que hicimos con las cáscaras ya están en la pila de abono. El año que viene las añadiremos a los huertos en forma de tierra llena de nutrientes.
Now, our freezer is full, and we look forward to many delicious meals. Let us know when you are coming for dinner!
Ahora el congelador está lleno y anticipamos muchas comidas ricas. Déjanos saber cuándo vienes a cenar en el Cabo de sueños.
Happy Homemaking!
¡Que todos sus sueños caseras se cumplan!
Yum!!
What a bounty! I learned at least one thing from this post: You can drink fruits and veggies faster than you can chew them! I didn’t know you were now a vegetarian. How’s it going? I like the idea in theory … but I don’t think I’d be able to keep it up. I’m such an omnivore …
Drinking is definitely faster! I did not think that I could be a vegetarian either, but it has not been as hard as I thought. I did give myself permission to eat meat from small organic farms, where I know that the animals live a good life.
where does the free produce come from? that’s pretty awesome! jim is a vegetarian. i eat about 95% vegetarian, but do enjoy steak tips now and then 🙂 good for you guys, though. that was a very clever way to utilize your huge pile of fruits and veggies.
I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you. 😉
Love a good haul of food but it is a responsibility to use it responsibly. I started a vegan week yesterday. So far so good. Jo @ Let’s Face the Music
How did your vegan week go? I had to eat some meat in Mexico, but my trip was 95% vegetarian.
You guys are just like Ma and Pa Ingalls!
Heehee. Not quite!