Each year about this time I start freezing green vegetables for winter. This week I froze some asparagus. Asparagus is a great boost to kidney function – like a cleanse. I like to make cream of asparagus soup in the winter when we start to feel sluggish. When friends come who do not eat dairy, I use oats as a creamy thickener instead – an old trick of Ken’s
I blanch most vegetables before freezing. This stops the enzyme action that first ripens and then rots food. So I take produce at peak, rinse and trim and then plunge in boiling water. This preserves as much flavor and nutrition as possible
For asparagus I separate by diameter. Thin spears I blanch two minutes, medium three minutes and thick spears four minutes. Then I pull out of the boiling water
and place in cold water. That water warms quickly, so
I transfer to a second bowl. I use the second bowl as the first in the next batch; some people use ice
Then I drain
and package with as little air
as possible to prevent freezer burn.
