Even if Labor Day is not the official calendared end of summer, it always feels that way. Labor Day weekend still puts me in the mind of heading back to school, new school supplies, warm sweaters for chilly days, brilliant fall colors, and spending afternoons in the sun “studying” on the banks of the Red Cedar at Michigan State. Riding through the bustling Loyola Campus this afternoon made Mark and I particularly nostalgic about the magic of fall afternoons on campus.
One certain sign of the end of summer, is our jam-packed freezer. If I could change one thing about our lovely condo it would be a tough choice between having in-unit washer & dryer, or having a chest freezer, so I could squirrel away more treasures of summer for the cold winter days. Even so, our new fridge has a much larger freezer than I’ve had since moving to Chicago, so I make the most of it…and by the looks of things, my summer hoarding is complete! I may squeeze another quart or two of corn in there, but I think I’ve stocked away just about as much as I can, and anything else that needs preserving will have to be canned. And FYI, you will find no boxed products, Lean Cuisines or any type of processed food stuff in my freezer – it’s all local/homeade for us – we are lucky, indeed!
So, in the tradition of the fascinating study of celebrity fridges on the MTV show “Cribs,” Here’s what I’ve got stored away for winter:
1 gallon of whole strawberries
4 pint bags of sliced strawberries in simple syrop
4 pint bags of sour cherries in simple syrup
2 gallons of cubed rhubarb
2 quarts of green beans
3 pints of strawberry rhubarb puree
2 gallons of blueberries
4 quarts of sweet corn
3 gallons of sliced peaches
2 quarts of pesto, individually wrapped in 1/4 cup servings
4 pint bags of oven roasted roma tomatoes
2 pints of tomato sauce (1st canning failure of the season)
2 quarts of chicken stock (a constant “must have”)
assorted meats from our CSA
gallon bag of veggie trimmings and chicken carcasses for next pot of stock
What have you stockpiled in your freezer?
The Whole Kitchen 
Jenn, I have been cooking up your recipes like crazy the past week. Sooooo delicious. :)-Erin (Ketto)
AWWW, thanks, Erin! You don't know how thrilling it is to hear that people are making my food! 🙂