France in Focus

We've done everything I can think of with the figs; clafoutis, pies, cakes, jam, sweet/savory meat sauce, chocolate covered fresh figs (delish), froze dozens, cooked with chicken or pork as a sauce in skillet. We're now attempting drying them. Any other ideas please?

I can't freeze anymore as there is no more space - already have far too many yellow squash we had to freeze.

Also have a bucket load of cherry tomatoes. I've dried them, roasted them in oven with herbs and garlic, used hundreds in salads, made a cherry tomato pasta sauce, made cherry tomato/cucumber/fresh herb salads, cherry tomato bean salads, using about 100 in a pasta dish tonight.. What else can I do with them ???

Thanks for any ideas.

Passata - but if you are short of freezer space this won't help. Probably very much like your tomato pasta sauce.

Put tomatoes into a pan and heat gently - cut big ones up into smaller pieces. cook until they are all bursting from the skins. For the very small cherry ones, I suggest mashing with a fork or a masher. Leave to cool and place in the fridge for 18 or more hours. This allows the colour in the skins to bleed out into the liquid. Then put the mix through a potato ricer (takes out the skins and some of the seeds. Put into containers and freeze.

Thanks for that Exile. We do something similar, but we actually don't use the potato ricer. We don't mind the skins/seeds and the skins have a good bit of nutrition. I might be able to squeeze a couple of packages of this into the freezer. Great idea for using in Winter.

Can't you bottle passata - no freezing required - small jars are available.

No idea. Would that require the boiling of the glass containers, etc.? Like canning requires? Where would you store it? Heat or cold sensitive?

Yes - I think canning is the US term for bottling.

Yes - would need boiling - but as it will be acid the temperatures required are lower.

Lori, are you freezing butternut squash?

No, yellow squash. It freezes well. We didn't try planting butternut squash. Not sure if you can freeze it.

Two yellow squash plants have given us dozens and dozens of squash...

Butternut keeps very well without freeing. Others keep less well im my experience so use quickly or frezze as @Lori has done.

Chutney?