Fun Recipes!

The Story Behind PopIt

By Amanda DiNatale

During this time of quarantine, where fresh food is scarce, it is especially important to conserve the food we already have. This series will hopefully help find recipes and storage systems that will prevent unnecessary waste.  Primarily, I’d like to talk about fruits and vegetables. With a short shelf life and many nutritional benefits, these foods need to be preserved. If you notice that your produce is browning or becoming too ripe, consider freezing them. While frozen, fruits can last for 6-9 months and vegetables can last up to 10. It is very simple to freeze produce and once frozen, it is simple to cook with them as well. Steps to freeze produce and some delicious recipes to make with them are below.  Steps to freeze:

1. Take the produce you wish to freeze, it is suggested that this fruit is already ripe or browning, and cut it into cooking sized pieces. 
2. Lay the pieces on a cooking sheet and freeze for about an hour. (This step is optional, but if you initially freeze the produce while it is separated, it will be easier to access when cooking because it will not all be stuck together.)
3. Take produce off of the cooking sheet and place it into a tupperware or a ziplock bag. Leave this in the freezer until needed for cooking. 

Frozen Produce Recipes: Smoothies - a delicious and easy way to combine fresh fruits and vegetables into a cool drink. In fact, frozen produce gives this meal its perfectly thick and cool consistency. My personal preference (and the easiest to cook) is the banana strawberry smoothie. To make this, you need:  1 Cup of frozen strawberries  1 Full banana (frozen, for a creamier, sorbet like dish, or normal for a thinner    smoothie.)  2oz Orange juice or cranberry juice 3 Large spoonfuls of yogurt - any kind will work ½ Cup spinach/kale frozen or room temperature (optional) ½ Tbs. Ground flax seed (optional) Mix all ingredients in a blender until combined to ideal texture. Serve and drink. This makes about two servings, but feel free to manipulate proportions to your desire.  Find more delicious smoothie recipes, using frozen fruit/vegetables, on https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/50-smoothies.  Fried Rice - a quick, crowd pleasing recipe with simple, frozen, ingredients. If ad-ins are available, there is a lot of room to be innovative with this dish; which makes it a perfect staple in the meal rotation. The basic ingredients are:  2½  cups rice (white or brown) Water - amount proportionate to the type of rice chosen ⅔  cup frozen carrots ¾ cup frozen peas  3 eggs Sesame oil and soy sauce to taste To cook, start by cooking the rice as directions indicate. While rice is cooking, boil carrots for about three minutes and quickly drop the peas in the water for about a minute. Strain both when boiled. Over high heat, fry the peas and carrots with sesame oil or butter (your preference). To add in the eggs, either scramble them before and mix in or you can crack your eggs over the vegetables and stir quickly to scramble. Next, add in the rice and more sesame oil. Stir all together until rice is fried to your liking. Add soy sauce and more sesame oil to taste. For more frozen vegetable recipes, visit https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/frozen-vegetable-recipes/.  Sources: http://www.eatingwell.com/article/15848/how-to-freeze-16-fruits-and-vegetables/ https://www.eatbydate.com/fruits/frozen-fruit-shelf-life-expiration-date/ https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/79543/fried-rice-restaurant-style/