Celery saving tips

Freezer prepped ingredients or meals have saved my life and one of my favourites is this simple recipe that I like to call "soup starter" because it's so handy to just pull out of the freezer and throw a couple of beans and greens over and a little broth and you've got a meal!

Soup starter is basically a meripoix but without the onion (because my husband doesn't like onions but if it was just for me I would totally add them)

- 3 bunches of celery, use the stalks and save the tender hearts for snacking, and the bottoms are useful too for stock.

- 9 big carrots

Peel the carrots and dice. Clean the celery stalks and dice.

It's easier to do this in 2 pots so I got 2 big pots going on the stove with a little oil and then I add half of the celery and carrot to each and sautee away, the carrots will begin to soften and release a lot of colour into the oil. Season with salt or I use A.Vogel's veggie infused seasalt product which is super handy!

At this point you add a little stock or even water works, just a couple of tbsps (maybe 1/4 cup) and cover, simmer until carrots are just tender.

Once it's done remove from the heat and cool completely then you can bag it and freeze, try to break it up while it's freezing (kind of like you would do with a granita so you don't end up with a big ball of frozen veg that you can't portion)

I'm on my second batch and truly this is just such a handy mix to have around.

For the celery middles, sometimes I save them for snacking and as you see the bottoms go into a stock so every part of the vegetable is used.

Fiskesuppe

Leeks are such a yummy ingredient but you'll find just about every recipe that includes them calls for a quick chop and sautee so today I'm writing about a quick tip to save you time and money!

Since I'm short on time these days ingredient prep has become essential to my way of cooking and I'm constantly putting things into my freezer and pulling other things out. All these ingredients and partial recipes that I've frozen in advance have helped me whip up a quick meals in no time.

The idea with the leeks came to me when I was prepping to make Fiskesuppe, a fish chowder like soup from Finland! During ingredient prep instead of just chopping enough leeks for the recipe I decided to chop 'em all and sautee in butter, lightly seasoned with himalayan sea salt. I would be using some the following day for another recipe with the leftover cod and then figured why not just freeze the rest in a ziplock bag!
One suggestion is to freeze it flat and then break it apart so you could pull out as much as you need for future recipes!

The Fiskesuppe begins with sauteeing leeks, shallots or onions, garlic and then veggies like celery, carrot, parsnip, and potatoes. Season the veggies and cover with fish stock, clam juice and water and cook until veggies are tender.
Right before serving bring the heat up close to a boil and add the cod, baby scallops and about a 1/2-1 cup heavy cream and simmer until seafood is tender. Enjoy!

The next recipe is one of the oldest recipes I remember making after watching Jamie Olive cook way back in his Naked chef days. I was in my early teens and it was the first time I bought and cooked leeks.

I simply placed the fillets of cod into a baking dish and topped with the sauteed leeks then baked until fish was cooked through. It's as simple as that and so delicious! Serve with a vegetable or potato side dish!

\

If I had a deep freezer I'd freeze ...

I want to make pretezels ... but if I had more room in my freezer I'd freeze them like last time since it's easier to make a big batch. They taste wonderful heated up because their crust gets crispy and the inside stay soft and chewy.. this got me thinking of buying a deep freezer.

Since I LOVE to make lists I thought I'd write out what would go inside it:


Lasagna (made with boil noodles)
Raw meatballs

Cooked meatballs

Homemade pasta sauces

Homemade pizza sauces

Homemade pizza dough

Homemade Pretzels
Homemade bagels

Artisan bakery breads
Pita bread
Homemade tortillas

Garlic bread (assembled from scratch)

Certain cheeses

Leftover slices of layered cream Cakes

Leftover spice cakes
Homemade cupcakes

Homemade whipped meringue buttercream frosting
Ganache

Homemade fresh fruit purees

Freezer jam

Frozen berries and fruit

Ginger (for grating)
Chopped hot peppers

Lemongrass (cleaned and chopped)
Thyme

Lemon juice with zest in it

Lime juice with zest in it

Simple syrup (for all kinds of drinks!)

Spice blends (like my arabic 7 spice blend)

Nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, pecans..etc)
Seeds (roasted pumpkin and watermelon seeds)
Chestnuts

Vegetable clippings for stock
(Shittaki stems, celery tops..)

Chicken bones for stock

Meats

Sausage

Hotdogs

Pepperoni

Homemade Stocks

Roasted homemade stocks

Soups (for hotpot or pho)

Frozen boiled dry beans

Curry

Stews (like okra or goulash or gravy before thickening)

Homemade pet food

Homemade stock for pet food

Liver pate for pets