Monday, April 4, 2016

I Think I'll J-u-u-u-st Make It

I took my last container of fresh frozen chives out of the freezer this morning.


During the winter months I use a lot of chives, mostly for adding color to dishes.


There are four clumps of chive plants in that center raised bed, the one in the foreground.  (Picture taken a few minutes ago.)  Even though they are the first green to pop up in the garden each spring, something tells me it's gonna be a while yet this year.

16 comments:

Sue said...

Mine were popped up, but now are buried as well. Ah well-there's still things to do in the house.....like chase some dust bunnies around. Goodness knows, in another month, we won't SEE the inside of our homes --we'll be so busy outside. So I guess it's STILL time to relax.
And durnit--I did not remember to freeze chives this past fall and spent the whole winter regretting that. Do you send out reminder notices?
Have a good day, dear lady

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Mine are up, but I'm completely out of tomatoes, zucchini, corn, broccoli, and cauliflower in my freezer. This cold and snow can leave now.

Mama Pea said...

Sue - My chives weren't even showing yet . . . which may have been for the best.

Over the years of freezing the chives, I've found it easiest to do so from the first cutting available in the spring. No coarse stems or other "debris" in with the leaves. And the chives themselves just seem "nicer" then.

I will send you a registered letter when I do mine to remind you this year. ;o)

Mama Pea said...

Kristina - 'Tis the time of year when we're all running out of garden produce. Considering what happened to your garden last year, you did a fantastic job of getting ANYTHING put by!

You say the cold and snow can leave now? Well, there's an understatement! :o]

Robin (Q of E) said...

I am so sorry for the "extra" snow and cold weather. It is very nice here though. Son and fiancé were here for hubby's memorial golf tournament, and it was beautiful weather. Of course, that could change any day. Good luck with your weather. Robin

Mark said...

Hi, Mama Pea! No chives up for us yet either, which is ok since we've had snow, hail, and will have 22F (-18C I think) tonight. We keep thinking we are done with winter and then another front rolls in.

We still have green beans, beets, sour kraut, and probably a few other things buried in the freezer. But it will be good to get some seeds in the ground.

Leigh said...

Do you have wild onions? Their stems can be chopped and used like chives. Not quite the same but tasty in a pinch.

Mama Pea said...

Robin - More snow expected here again tonight. Even though it stayed cold yesterday (not above 30) we had sunshine and some snow did melt. Ha! Just in time for some new stuff!

Mama Pea said...

Mark - Hi, stranger! How all is going well with you and De. We had 16 degrees first thing this morning. Feels really chilly outside and we have both wood stoves going in the house this morning. Heating season is not over for us yet, that's for sure.

Mama Pea said...

Leigh - No, we don't have wild onions around here. But they would certainly be a good substitute for chives. I grow extra regular onions because I love scallions and use them a lot in early summer.

Katie C. said...

I was just thinking last night, as I made veggie enchiladas for dinner, that I will probably run out of veggies before the new ones come in. Sigh.

I just came across some frozen strawberries. What should I make?

Susan said...

The only thing that keeps me going (as far as chive-y things) is a little pot on the window sill where I keep four or five scallions 'going'. My chives were up about six inches before the latest return of winter. I am going to have to remember to freeze my chives! Could you remind me in October, please?

Mama Pea said...

Katie C. - If you've got a big enough batch of them, make some jam! That would smell dee-lish burbling away in the kitchen this time of year.

Otherwise, how 'bout over some vanilla ice cream? Too decadent? Nah. ;o} Or on hot, cooked oatmeal some morning? Mmmmmm!

Mama Pea said...

Susan - That registered letter I'm going to send as a reminder to Sue in Michigan may have to go out to you, too. ;o}

gld said...

This winter I was able to use my chives and some parsley right out of the planter. I finally had to cut all back and they are up about 12 inches tall now and beginning to bloom. The parsley reseeds itself each year.

Mama Pea said...

gld - I've never been able to keep either chives or parsley going over winter in a pot inside. :o( And my parsley never reseeds itself . . . most likely because it gets killed off by hard frost before it goes to seed!