Freezer Needs for Storing Your Home Garden Harvest

So, it’s that time of year again….you home garden needs to be harvested, you’re planning your fall hunting trip, you need to stock up at the grocery store….and you need a new freezer! 

  There are a few things to consider when purchasing your new freezer.  Here are a few questions to answer to help you decide what your freezer needs are:

1. What types of foods are we putting in this freezer?
2. How long will the food be in the freezer?
3. Where will the freezer be located in the home?
4. Should we get an upright, or a chest freezer?
5. Frost-free, or manual-defrost?
6. What size should we get?

    If you are looking for a freezer to use for your regular day-to-day grocery needs, then a frost-free upright unit might be good for you.  These units do not build-up with ice and are best served for the foods that your family will go through on a regular basis. If you are looking for more long-term storage, then a manual-defrost chest type freezer would be best.  These units keep your food deep-frozen, while the unit may build up with ice, your food will not get freezer burned.  When you open a chest freezer, the cold air stays down in the freezer.  When you open an upright freezer, the cold air tends to escape.  Chest freezers can hold a lot of food; however, some may find that keeping an upright freezer makes it easier to organize your groceries.

    If you are going to put your freezer in the garage, make sure that where you put it doesn’t reach below -5 degrees F or above 110 degrees F.  Put it along a joining wall with your home.

A freezer will hold approx 35 lbs of food per cu. Ft., so a 15 cu. ft. chest freezer should store approximately 525 lbs of food.

Chest freezers come in a variety of sizes from 5 cu. ft. all the way up to 25 cu. ft., and range anywhere from $145-$799.

Upright Freezers are usually in the 14-21 cu. ft. size and range between $399 & $899.

Come see your home-town appliance team today so that we can help you pick out the right freezer for your family.  We have standard sizes available, but can special order any size freezer that suits your needs.

Let us know if you have any questions about freezers and storing your food. Leave it in the comments section.

Recipe- Blueberry-Lemon Tart

This heavenly dessert is like a fresh breath of springtime with every bite!

Prep time: 25 minutes

Inactive time: 1 hour

Cook time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Ingredients:

Pastry:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch kosher salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks

1 large egg, separated

2 tablespoons ice water, plus 1 teaspoon

Filling:

4 large eggs

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 5 lemons)

¼ cup heavy cream

1 lemon, zested

Pinch kosher salt

1 pint blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pulse flour, sugar and salt together in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until dough resembles cornmeal. Add egg yolk and 2 tablespoons ice water and pulse again until dough pulls together. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Roll dough up onto rolling pin and lay inside a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press dough into edges of pan and fold excess dough inside to reinforce the rim. Cover tart pan with plastic wrap and put into the refrigerator for another 30 minutes.

Put tart pan on a baking sheet and prick bottom of dough with a fork. Cover shell with a piece of parchment paper and fill it with pie weights or dry beans. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove parchment and weights. Lightly beat egg white with 1 teaspoon water and brush it onto the bottom and sides of the tart shell; set aside to cool.

Whisk together eggs, sugar, lemon juice, cream, zest, and salt. Add blueberries to cooled tart shell and pour filling over blueberries. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. The curd should jiggle slightly when done. Cool to room temperature, remove from tart ring and serve.

Serves 6 to 8.

Fruit & Whipped Cream, Oh What a Dream!

With spring upon us and summer just around the corner, we must be prepared for all of the festivities! And what is at the heart and soul of these summer gatherings? DELICIOUS FOOD! Check out the recipe below from Cups + Spoonfuls for a light and refreshing angel food cake recipe that is sure to please anyone and everyone that has a piece!

I turned to Betty Crocker for inspiration this week.  Every so often I find myself leafing through my Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook, the cookbook my grandmother gave me after Bubba and I married.  “You’ll need this, it has everything.” she promised.  At first glance, I judged the cookbook for its lack of “healthy” recipes, horrible food photography and sexist illustrations of family life.  I tucked it away in our bookcase with the plan of donating it.  Years passed, but Betty remained on our book shelf.  I couldn’t part with her.  This dated, meant for “home-makers” cookbook gave me a glimpse of a time before social media, mommy wars, barre and kale smoothies, quinoa and hemp seeds.  As much as the Mad Men era illustrations of mom in heels baking a cake with 2 kids underfoot and Dad in a suit sampling her hard work with a smug look on his face enraged me, I couldn’t help but notice the common ground across generations.  Women ministering to their loved ones by making delicious food.  Homemaker or not, food is love, it was then and it still is today.

Angel Food Cake Delight     

Light and airy angel food cake filled with honey whipped cream and fresh berries        

Serves 10-12

Recipe barely adapted from Baking Illustrated and inspired by Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook

Ingredients for Angel Food Cake:

1 cup sifted cake flour

1 1/2 cups sifted sugar

12 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions for Cake:

Move an oven rack to the lower-middle position and pre-heat your oven to 325F.  Set aside an ungreased large tube pan with a removable bottom.  ( If you can’t remove the bottom, line it with parchment paper.)

Whisk together the flour and 3/4 cup of the sugar in a small bowl.  Place the other 3/4 cup of sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on low-speed until they break up and begin to froth.  Add the cream of tartar and salt.  Turn the speed up to medium and beat until the whites form soft mounds.   Beat in remaining 3/4 cup sugar, just 1 tablespoon at a time, until all the sugar is added and the whites form soft peaks and are shiny.  Next add vanilla and lemon juice and beat until just combined.

Turn off the mixer and sift third of the flour/sugar mixture over the whites.  Using a rubber spatula, gently fold them in.  Sift the remaining flour/sugar mixture of the whites and gently fold.  Scrape the batter into your pan.  Smooth the top with a spatula.  Gently bang the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.

Bake until the cake is golden brown and the top springs back when you touch it with your finger, about 50-60 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven and invert it onto the prongs of the pan or use the neck of a glass bottle.  Allow the cake to cool for 2 to 3 hours before removing it from the pan.

Once cool, run a knife around the edges of the pan.  Slice the cake out the pan and carefully slice off the removable bottom.   Set the cake golden brown side up on a cake platter or stand.

Using a serrated knife cut 1 inch the top of the cake off.  Set aside.  Carefully cut down into the cake, leaving a 1 inch border from the middle hole and cake “wall” and 1 inch base.  Scope out the inside of the cake and set aside. (Keep the scraps for nibbling!)

Fill the hollowed area of the cake with your honey whipped cream/berry mixture.   Place cake top on and press gently.  Cover the rest of the cake with the remaining whipped cream.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to over-night.  The cake, refrigerated, will last up to 2 days, but I doubt you will have leftovers.  Enjoy!

Honey Whipped Cream  + Fresh Berry Mixture

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook

Ingredients:

3 cups heavy cream

5-6 tablespoons of honey  (light flavored)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup raspberries

1 cup strawberries, hulled and sliced in quarters

Directions:

Start with a chilled bowl and beater.  Add cold heavy cream to the bowl and beat until the cream thickens.  Add honey and vanilla and continue to beat until the cream creates stiff peaks.  Be careful not to overbeat!   Remove less than half of the whipped cream and place in a small bowl.  (Set aside remaining whipped cream.)  Using a rubber spatula fold in the berries.  Use the berry mixture to fill the cake and use the remaining whip cream to cover the entire cake.

**You can make the whipped cream (without the berries) ahead of time.  Be sure to store it in an air-tight container in the fridge.  It will stay fresh for up to 10 hours.  Whisk for about 10 minutes before using and then proceed with the recipe.**