Preserving Squash or Pumpkin

SQUASH/PUMPKIN LEATHER RECIPE
Cook and puree. For each 2 c. puree, add 1/2 c. honey, 1/4 t. cinnamon, and 1/8 t. each of nutmeg and cloves. (Other options: Combine with apple puree. For spices, substitute ginger and pumpkin pie spice. Sweeten with white or dark corn syrup rather than honey. For each 1 c. steamed squash, pumpkin, or sweet potato, add 1c. mashed banana, 1 t. pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 t. vanilla and 1/2 c. chopped nuts; dry like a fruit leather.) Spread the drying tray (or whatever you use) with plastic, or oil in it. If you use plastic, make sure some hangs off the edges. Spread the paste on the surface and set it out to dry. When it's done you can just peel the plastic backing away.

Freezing. Cut open your winter squash or pumpkin. Remove stringy fibers and seeds (save them for seed or snacks). Cut into pieces and cook until soft in as little boiling water as possible. Or steam in a pressure cooker or bake in the oven. You can bake a whole big squash; it takes about 2 hours. Then you cut open, remove seeds, and mash. Or bake or boil sections and, after the squash is cooked, scrape off the rind and mash the insides (use a masher or rotary colander or push through a sieve). (Using a masher is by far the easiest way.) Then package and freeze. There's no good way to cool it, so just don't put more in the freezer than it can handle each day.

I thaw a big bag of frozen squash in a frying pan with a little water, butter, and honey. Mix well and serve hot. Substitute for sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving or at any other time. Around here, squash is much cheaper and easier to grow than sweet potatoes. You can use it pies or add it to bread dough.

Drying. Pioneer Americans dried pumpkin a lot. Their method was generally to slice the pumpkin around in circles, scrape out the seeds and strings, peel it, and let the circles hang in the air, out of direct sunshine, until they were dried. Another method: Cut into small pieces, seed, peel, cut into 1-inch strips, and cut those 1/4 inch thick. Or shred it. Dry until tough.

Canning. Wash; remove seeds. Cut into chunks and peel. Cut the peeled chunks into 1-inch cubes. Add just enough water to cover. Boil 2 minutes. Optional: Add salt. Put chunks into clean canning jar. Pour cooking liquid over, leaving 1 inch headspace. Caution: Do not mash or puree before canning. Process pints 55 minutes, quarts 90 minutes, in pressure canner only.

[Adapted from the "Squashes" section of Chapter 4: Garden Vegetables. Illustration copyright 1994 by Cindy Davis.]

Preserving Herbs

It is very convenient to have potted herb plants in my kitchen window. I love to use fresh herbs in many of the dishes I cook. Some recipes call for dried herbs, so I have used Carla Emery's advice from The Encyclopedia of Country Living to dry herbs for future use. 

HANGING BUNCHES

Cut off the top 6 inches of the plant, or use whole plants, bunch them, tie the bundles with string, and hang them up with the root end upward in a shady, airy place. I plan to hang them from the pot rack over the stove. This will give them ample room to hang without getting in the way of the counter. Allow at least 2 weeks for drying. If you dry your herbs whole like this, crumble them or rub them through a sieve to remove the stems and midribs when you're ready to use them.

STORING DRIED HERBS

To store leaves, seeds, or roots, you can use baby food jars or other empty jars that are airtight to prevent flavor deterioration. The fewer times you open the lid, the better they keep their strength. And try to keep them in a cool, dark, dry place away from heat- not on a shelf over or beside the stove. The cool storage inhibits evaporation of the flavoring oil in the herb, and the darkness protects the color, which fades when exposed to light.

COOKING WITH DRIED HERBS

They are at least 3 times as strong as fresh herbs. Figure 1 teaspoon of dried herbs equals 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs.