Preparing garden veggies for the freezer

No more standing over steaming kettles of tomato sauce for me. This summer I am using my steamer to process garden veggies for the freezer.

I drop tomatoes into boiling water to remove the skins, core them, and put them into the rice cooker bowl. About 30-45 minutes later, take them out of the steamer, cool, separate into tomato sauce and tomato juice. So far I have done 56 pints of sauce and 23 quarts of juice.

This steamer does great stewed apples and quinoa. I have used it a least once a day, every day for the last 10 months. I would certainly buy it again.

Only use this method for the freezer. I would caution users not to use this method for putting food into JARS without first checking with the Agricultural Extension Service...safety first. Be careful reaching across the steamer it can burn you.

I bought this steamer last fall. I would absolutely buy it again. It does wonderful steamed trout. When the fish are done steaming it is really easy to remove all those tiny, tiny trout bones.

I put my veggies in one steamer basket and the fish in another. Of course you need to put the longer cooking itme in first. It takes a little practice to learn just when to add the additional basket. The book is very easy to understand and has a good table of approximate cooking times.

This is a fast, non-messy way to cook. The steamer has an automatic low water shut off, a set ahead time, and keeps food warm for an hour. You just set it and go. Sort of like a fast slow cooker.