10 Ways to Keep Farm Fresh Fruits and Vegetables for the Winter Months

Vegetable Soup (Photo by Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Soup

I am so excited for soup weather. The temperature is finally starting to drop to the point where even thinking about soup makes me sweat. And that’s soup conundrum: I want soup in the winter, but I have super soup produce now. My solution is to make a ton of soup and freeze it. You can also can your own soup!

Vegetable broth is my favorite thing to make with fresh produce. I’ve been a vegetarian since 1988 and I have yet to taste a store-bought vegetable broth that wasn’t gross. Home-made veggie broth is so delicious! You can use it as a base for other soups, or add some noodles or matzah balls, or just drink it. You can freeze it in large portions or in ice cube trays. Sometimes you just need a little broth for a stir fry or to deglaze a pan. I can’t say enough about veggie broth. It probably needs its own post.

I love all kinds of soup: clear, pureed, or chunky, with noodles, dumplings, barley or rice. A garden-fresh minestrone is an excellent option for freezing. I recommend cooking the noodles for only half the recommended time and adding them immediately before freezing so they don’t soak up all the broth and get all mushy.

Just thinking about heating up a pot of home-made roasted root veggie soup on the coldest gray February day makes me all warm inside. And almost wish for snow. Almost.