Oh, no! This is the. last. container! This ain't gonna last until the chives are up this spring, folks. I thought for sure I had more left than this one lonely little cup-size container.
They still look about as good as when I harvested them last May. Dried chives are super-expensive to purchase and with the two abundant chive plants I have in the garden, it's silly of me not to preserve them each year for winter's use.I tried drying (dehydrating) them once, but what a chore that was. (Maybe that's why they're so expensive?) So I gave a go at freezing them and it's worked out so well that I put up lots of containers of them each spring. However, . . . and oops. I did not do enough this year. Note to self: This spring do about twice as many chives for the freezer.
One other little item I found while freezer diving today . . .
Near OCD labeler and dater of freezer packages that I am, I've always wondered how people could talk of coming up with packages of "mystery meat" from the depths of their freezers. But . . . um, well, uh, . . . seems I've had it happen to me. I frequently package up small amounts of meat like this because we don't eat much meat. I use it more for flavoring rather than a main entree. This package had no label, no date, no indication of what it might be. I let it defrost and upon examination . . . well, I'm still not sure what it is.I think it looks most like chopped liver but if so, it was no where near the correct "filing" place for raw meat. Guess our granddogs will be getting a little treat of "mystery meat" soon.
You starting your own dictionary too,granddogs, in deed.Next you will be telling me you have a whatchamacallit, he,he, Those chives look green as summer grass
ReplyDeleteOh, hey, Mama Pea! I've got loads of frozen chives in my freezer (thanks to your post about it). Want to come over and borrow a cup? (I wish) I am, afraid, nowhere near OCD and "filing" when it comes to the freezer. I am more of the, "oh, I will remember what this is..." school of mis-thought.
ReplyDeleteI'm heading into the last container of chives too---but I'm leaving soon so it's ok. I really have to thank you for that "oh-so-obvious-to-everyone-but-Sue" idea. I LOVE the fresh taste of them--so much better than dried.
ReplyDeleteI'm also getting LOW on strawberry sauce and apple sauce and potatoes. See why I leave in March?
I'd starve, I tell ya, starve!!!
Alas, I'm out of chives (my plant is still young and small so I can't devastate it too much) but I've got a TON of pesto still to go.
ReplyDeleteAh, mystery meat... I do think I've got just about everything labeled. And I understand the 'filing system' in the freezer... now if only my children did.
Judy
We have his and hers freezers but I (she) have taken over both of them. We make a written inventory when we defrost each season. But someone misplaced the clipboard with the list from her freezer so we are now winging it. At least most of the meat is sorted by animal type into totes so that does help some. I need to freeze chives this coming spring, too. I have two prolific plants. Mama Pea you are just so darned good!!
ReplyDeletejudy - Not only do I have lots of whatchamacallits, but several thingamabobs!
ReplyDeleteSusan - If only I COULD bop on over to borrow a cup of chives! I have a feeling I'm going to be a little stingy in using this last bunch.
Sue - I know! Why would ANYONE choose dried chives over frozen ones? Now, I've got loads of strawberries in my freezer like Susan has loads of chives. We've GOT to work out some sort of exchange here!
Judy - I don't have the problem of kids in my freezer . . . it's my husband. I swear he's like a bull in a china shop in there! I think I've finally got him trained so he just asks me to go get something for him rather than totally destroying my filing system.
2 Tramps - I am just so darned good?? Right. I'm just about plumb out of my beloved chives and I've got a bag of unidentifiable, ishy meat in my refrigerator. How much gooder can I get? ;o]
I remember seeing photos of your big chive plants and I can't believe you are running out LOL!
ReplyDeleteWasnt that Susan that had the suspicious cream cheese from 2008? Boy between the both of you, you have the makings of a meal for fear factor.
ReplyDeleteYou're making me jealous 1) that you HAVE a freezer 2) with all your homemade/ put up goodies. I am getting close to the day when I, too, can do this and that day can't come fast enough!
ReplyDeleteErin - Yes, and Mama Pea should have processed MORE of those big chive plants to store in her freezer!
ReplyDeleteJane - BWU-WAAAAH-HA-HA-HA!
It's the "dohickys" that get in the way! Oh, my fridge freezer is full of mystery meals. I always think I'll remember but dont. Labels will be my friend this summer!
ReplyDeleteJen - You are going to be coerced into putting in a garden when you buy a house, aren't you?
ReplyDeleteKatidids - I've learned that I NEVER remember if I don't label freezer packages! And I hate those surprises when you defrost what you think is one thing and it turns out to be another.
Too bad about your chives. You must use alot of chives. I hope the dogs like the mystery meat. How do you freeze chives? Do you chop them and freeze them in a single layer? I'm planting garlic chives this year and would love to know.
ReplyDeleteI was actually arguing in favor of a house we looked at because it didn't have any trees in the backyard and I could put in a smallish raised bed :)
ReplyDeleteI do want to garden. I once put one in a bed at a rental house and then we moved before harvest :(
The Weekend Homesteader - I did a blog post on processing the chives for the freezer back in 2009. If you would like to read that post, go to my right hand side bar and scroll way down to the listing of years I've been blogging, click on 2009, then click on May of that year. When May posts come up on the screen, scroll down to the May 18th post . . . and there you are!
ReplyDeleteJen - Well, then you've already had a taste of gardening and can do it. You just need the yard for it!
Note to self....freeze the chives, duh! Where do you use up so much chives? Love the mystery meat. I too have learned to mark it right away. A package or two always sneaks by though. Lucky Dogs :-)
ReplyDeletedr momi - The chives help a lot with my craving for something "fresh" and vibrantly green in the winter. (It's probably more psychological than anything!) I mix them in with homemade cottage cheese, in biscuit dough, potato salad and egg salad, in soups (especially nice in clear broth soups), salad dressing, sprinkled over baked fish and baked potatoes, in mashed potatoes, stir fry and I put a lot in scrambled eggs.
ReplyDeleteYou posted about the chives before (I think) and that is such a great idea! We had chive plants that stuck around and kept coming back for about three years. They seem to have died off for good now so I'm looking forward to planting a bunch and then harvesting and freezing them. There is nothing like chives - and I bet they are even better in the winter. =)
ReplyDeleteAimee - That's just it . . . in the summer there is so much greenery available in the garden to eat that the lowly chives don't always get used as much as they could/should. But in the winter, I do so enjoy and use them a lot!
ReplyDeleteThose chives look fantastic! I need to do that this year.
ReplyDeleteA couple years ago we were switching out refrigerators and I found a plastic bag at the bottom of the freezer. It was labeled "turds." I have no idea what was actually in it, but I know it wasn't turds. I don't know WHAT I was thinking...
Jody M. - That is really kinda funny! Obviously, you were in a good mood when you labeled the package . . . a new recipe gone wrong perhaps??
ReplyDelete