This weekend I tackled a few easy projects to preserve some vegetables. I had a full fridge with two heads of cabbage (one red and one green), plus bunches of radishes and beets. I needed to use these veggies and make some space.
Colorful Freezer Slaw -- I went searching on Eat Your Books for a recipe that would use both red and green cabbage in one swoop. And yet, we've had a few weeks of cabbage already ... so I'm not exactly craving it right now. I've already made a several batches of slaw and a couple cooked cabbage recipes. Luckily, I found this recipe for freezer slaw in a new book I got on sale recently: The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest by Carol W. Costenbader. It's almost too easy to be true. I split the slaw between two gallon-size freezer bags (double bagged) and slid them in the freezer. They should keep for up to two months, and simply defrost in the fridge overnight before serving. Sounds perfect for April when I'm not getting cabbage every week. I'll have to report back later when we taste the results.
Pickled Beets with Star Anise and Cinnamon -- This recipe comes from Roots by Diane Morgan. There are similar recipes in Saving the Season by Kevin West. But this recipe by Morgan doesn't require water bath canning. It also doesn't have as long a shelf life as the recipes in West's book. But since I had a very small bunch of beets and can eat them right away on salads, I didn't feel the need for full-blown canning with shelf life. This is much quicker and equally tasty. I also happened to have all the ingredients in the panty ready to go.
Pickled Radishes -- I greatly prefer pickled radishes to fresh ones. We put them on tacos whenever we have taco night, which is frequently! I've made this recipe many times from from Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller, and it always turns out great. Very simple with just a light pickling, not too strong. Like the beets, it doesn't involve serious canning, but only keeps in the fridge for a few weeks. I love them. I did one jar of white/pink watermelon radishes and two jars of the more common red radishes.
