How to Use, Store or Preserve Garden Produce to Reduce Waste ~ Homestead and Chill

Last Updated on September 21, 2023

We talk a lot about how to GROW food here at Homestead and Chill, but how about ways to use it? In fact, “How do you use all the food you grow?” has quickly become one the most frequently asked questions I get on Instagram! That, along with “how do you store it all?” or “what’s your favorite way to preserve everything?” So, let’s talk about all of that – and more!

The short and sweet answer is: we eat it! Well, most of it at least. I’d say we consume about 70% of our homegrown produce fresh, preserve about 20%, and the remaining 10% goes to the chickens, compost, the local food bank, and/or friends. As simple as that may sound, it isn’t always easy! It takes a concerted effort, dedication, and a bit of creativity at times. And we certainly aren’t perfect in our endeavors.

I’ve shared a number of recipes here over the years, but in reality, we rarely follow “recipes” in our day-to-day cooking. So, get ready for some serious garden-to-table food inspo! In this article I’ll share the ways we use our homegrown food, including recipes and meal ideas for both fresh and preserved produce, tips for cooking fresh veggies, how to harvest and store produce to extend its lifespan, places to donate excess to, and other creative ways to reduce food waste in general.

I hope this will spark some inspiration on how you can make the best use of your homegrown goodies too!

Grow What You Like

Start by growing crops that you enjoy eating most, because it’s far easier to use and consume your favorite fruits and veggies than ones you’re not as fond of. If you don’t like to eat kale, don’t grow kale! Though I will say, homegrown produce is always exponentially better than anything you’ll buy, so don’t be afraid to experiment and grow a small amount of something new or different to you. Perhaps you’ll be pleasantly surprised! As a matter of fact, I used to “dislike” radishes, and now they’re one of my favorite things to grow.

Red sliced cherry belle radishes on avocado toast sprinkled with salt, pepper, and homegrown lemon powder. — Homemade sourdough bread with homegrown avocados, radishes, pesto, and zesty lemon peel powder.

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Grow A Reasonable Number of Plants

At first glance, it looks like we’re growing A LOT of food in our 19 raised garden beds. But upon closer inspection, you’ll see that we’re only growing a handful of each type of plant. That definitely makes it easier to use things up! We aren’t overwhelmed with an excessive amount of one kind of veggie, and many of the crops are ready to harvest at different or staggered times.

It may take you a few seasons of experience and experimenting to find the right balance of plants for you or your family. For example, there were years we planted WAY too many hot chili peppers. We don’t eat a ton of those fresh, and despite our best efforts to preserve the rest, there is only so much fermented hot sauce, pickled peppers and homemade chili powder we can use… So we grow far fewer hot chilis now, and plant more sweet bell peppers instead.

This also varies depending on your personal goals and growing seasons! Do you hope to simply enjoy a smattering of homegrown veggies over the summer months? Or is it your intent to be self-sufficient, and therefore grow and “put up” as much food as possible? Can you grow year-round, or do you need to pack all your production into a few short months? Clearly that will influence how many plants you grow – and how much effort it will take to use or preserve it all!

View of a garden with pollinator plants mulched with bark in the foreground. Beyond is a graveled area with many raised beds, various vegetables are growing throughout the beds with lush green plants to various flowers of pink, purple, white and yellow. — Our new garden is admittedly quite large, but we’re still able to use all the food we grow! And, we don’t grow just food.

Eat What’s In Season

This may sound obvious, but it actually takes a good deal of practice and thought! Rather than trying to “fit” our homegrown produce into existing recipes or meal plans, we make a concerted effort to create and cook meals primarily based around the produce that’s currently available in the garden. We don’t eat out, and try not to buy additional produce at times when we have plenty homegrown.

In our garden, that means we’re eating tons of zucchini, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, peas, green beans, and basil all summer. Yes, even if we’re feeling a bit tired of them by the end of the season! Then in the winter we don’t eat those things at all (that is, unless they’re preserved) and load up on leafy greens, root veggies, cabbage, cauliflower, winter squash, and broccoli instead. This also applies to things we get from the farmer’s market or grocery store.

Zucchini noodles on a ceramic plate which contains a bed of zoodels, drizzled with fresh pesto, a nice pile of fresh tomatoes is placed in the middle of the pile along with a sprig of basil. Two slices of fresh sourdough focaccia are sitting on the edge of the plate. — A very summery meal: zucchini noodles (aka “zoodles”) with homegrown besto pesto, fresh tomatoes, basil, black beans, and sourdough focaccia with garden herbs.

Okay, I get the idea.. But how do you eat all those vegetables?

Being vegetarian, fresh produce makes up a large portion of what’s on our plate. Our dinners often consist of lightly sautéed mixed seasonal veggies served with either whole grains and legumes (such brown rice or quinoa with black beans or chickpeas), lentils, or a veggie burger patty – served “Buddha bow l” style. We also occasionally eat eggs, brown rice pasta, or potatoes as the “base” with our veggies, and may toss in an organic corn tortilla or slice of homemade sourdough bread from time to time.

We also eat a lot of big salads (especially for lunch), veggie-loaded soups and sandwiches, and tostadas with beans, cheese and vegetables. Avocado, fresh herbs, pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts, and other nuts or seeds are a welcome addition to most any meal! “Snack plates” or mini charcuterie boards is another easy and satisfying lunch idea. Simply load up a plate with fresh cut seasonal veggies, fruit, your favorite dips (I’m a big nut butter fan), and handful nuts or chunks of cheese.

“What we eat in a day” could be a full post of its own, but keep reading for a list of example meal ideas and recipes at the end of this post! Then if you’re still feeling stuck for ideas, feel free to browse some of our favorite recipe books here. Now let’s talk about ways to cook, store, and preserve your garden veggies.

A birds eye view of two ceramic bowls filled with the same ingredients. Each section of the bowl has a different item, from brown rice, to steamed broccoli, sliced avocado, and a dollop of sauerkraut. — Sautéed broccoli, kale, bok choy and onion over quinoa, with homemade kraut and avocado.

A birds eye view of two white bowls are sitting on a dark walnut table. Each one is filled with different foods that occupy a part of the bowl like a sliced pie. There is a section of quinoa, shredded carrot, cubed beets, garbanzo beens, and miner's lettuce. Each one occupying its own section of the bowl. There are a few greens garnishing the area around the bowls. Use produce that you have harvested in the wild or your own backyard. — A winter lunchtime “buddha bowl” of quinoa, chickpeas, homegrown roasted beets and grated carrots, miner’s lettuce from the yard, and a little feta cheese. I’d add a small drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar or fresh-squeezed lemon over something like this.

A birds eye view of a white ceramic plate. Half of the plate is covered by scrambled eggs, the other half is covered in an assortment of sautéd greens, bok choy, snap peas, and radishes. — A springy saute of kale, bok choy, radishes, snap peas, and mustard greens with backyard chicken eggs.

Quick Tips for Cooking Fresh Veggies

Our favorite way to cook vegetables is in a large cast iron wok. We’ve used it dang near every night for over a decade! Yet rather than tossing everything in at once, I like to add the firmest veggies first (or the ones I want to cook longest), followed by medium-firm or faster-cooking ones about halfway through, and then toss in the leafy greens to wilt just before turning off the heat. I also like to separate the stems from certain greens, adding those sooner than the tender tops. That way, nothing gets mushy or overcooked.

For example, things like onion, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, and carrots go in the wok first, followed by zucchini, green beans, snap peas, bok choy or swiss chard stems a few minutes later, and finally things like chopped kale, mustard greens, arugula, swiss chard or bok choy tops at the very end. I also tend to strip away tough kale or collard stems and not use those at all.

In the wok, we sauté the vegetables with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil or butter. To keep things interesting, we rotate through a variety of seasonings or sauces: fresh herbs, curry or turmeric powder, cumin, onion powder, taco seasoning, pesto, roasted tomato sauce, nutritional yeast, or tamari. Though most times, we keep it pretty simple with just salt and pepper. Fresh garlic and onion always add a lot of flavor too!

Fresh chopped greens inside a large cast iron wok. Use produce that you grow for healthy meals. — Our favorite Lodge cast iron wok. It’s pretty heavy and we use it almost daily, so it just lives on our stovetop.

Birds eye view of five mason jars that are each filled with a homegrown dried herb or vegetable. There is one container each of turmeric powder, lemon powder, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder. — Some of the seasonings we add to sautéed veggies: onion, garlic, turmeric, lemon and chili powders (all homegrown).

Of course there are many other ways to cook veggies: steamed, fried, boiled, baked, in soup… Roasting vegetables in the oven is particularly delicious! I especially love herb roasted cauliflower and marinated Brussel sprouts. The caramelization process brings out a wonderful nutty, sweet flavor while reducing bitter vegetal notes. In the summertime, we love to bust out our favorite veggie grill basket to cook herbed potatoes, squash, peppers, onions, eggplant and other seasonal goodies outside on the BBQ. Marinated portobello mushrooms are divine cooked right on the grill as well!

Birds eye view of two plates with a whole grilled portabella mushroom, sliced dark yellow tomatoes, a salad with cucumbers, strawberries, and cherry tomatoes, two slices of bread, and slices of fresh mozzarella. A wine decanter and a stemless wine glass each contain red wine. Use produce that you grow for delicious summer meals. — One of my favorite summer meals: grilled portobello mushrooms (marinated in advance in a little olive oil, aged balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper) with a green garden salad, caprese-style basil tomatoes and mozzarella (also with evoo and balsamic), and sourdough bread.

A variety of halved fingerling and small potatoes grilling in a grill basket. — Using our favorite veggie grill basket to cook up some homegrown potatoes with garden rosemary. SO GOOD.

A birds eye view of two plates, each one contains, a salad of greens, beets, radishes, and cherry tomatoes, roasted potatoes, and grilled squash steaks. A stemless wine glass is partially full of red wine and is next to the plates. — Another similar summery meal, with garden potatoes and grilled patty pan squash “steaks”, a green salad with roasted beets, radish and tomatoes, and sourdough bread (made with walnuts and ‘Black Nebula’ carrots that dyed it purple).

Homegrown Produce: Harvest & Storage Tips

When it comes time to harvest goodies from the garden, there are a few different ways to approach it. You can harvest a little at a time, perhaps just what you need for each day or meal. Everything will be extra fresh that way! Then you also don’t have to worry about storing as much volume, or things going bad or limp in the fridge. It’s a great approach if that is what your schedule allows!

Years ago, we got in the habit of doing a big harvest every Sunday for the week ahead – and it stuck. Our big all-at-once harvests admittedly take up a lot of space in the fridge, but I find it exceptionally convenient to have everything already cool, crisp and on hand when we need it. Similar to a big grocery store haul, SEEING it all in the fridge also encourages us to use it even more! If we had to pop outside every time we prepared a meal, not only would it take more time, but I think we’d actually use far less of our garden produce.

I plan to write an article about the best ways to store fresh produce soon, since there are many nuances and tips depending on the type of fruit or vegetable we’re talking about! Such as, you know it’s best to leave (uncut) tomatoes out at room temperature, right? Right. In the meantime…

Here are a few general tips to store produce for maximum freshness and lifespan:

Harvest crops early in the day and/or when the weather is cool. Crops that are cool and firm at the time of harvest will be more likely to stay that way in storage compared to warm limp ones! Especially if you get them inside and into the fridge quickly. In the interim, keep your harvest baskets (and harvest photoshoots) in the shade if possible.
Most fresh garden produce will stay crisp and perky when stored in the refrigerator inside an air-tight container. We reuse a lot of old plastic produce bags over and over. It’s not ideal but works really well – especially for big bulky harvests of leafy greens! The greens stay crisp for well over a week if the bag is clipped shut. I also really like these reusable silicone food storage bags, particularly for more compact items like green beans, snap peas, zucchini, radishes or carrots. You can also use a large tupperware-like container, including a glass container with a tight lid. Add a tiny splash of water to containers/bags of leafy greens and root veggies (except potatoes).
Remove the leafy green tops from root vegetables before putting them in containers or bags for storage, including carrots, radishes, beets, or turnips. You can store and use those greens separately (yes, they’re all edible!), but they’ll also be the first to rot. With the tops removed, root veggies should stay good in cold storage for many months.
We do not wash produce before storage, with the exception of very dirty root vegetables (like carrots or radishes) – we rinse or brush those off first. Also avoid prepping or cutting anything until you’re ready to use it. Things will stay good far longer when left whole!

The inside of a refrigerator is shown, each shelf is full of a variety of vegetables in plastic bags, cauliflower, bok choy, kale is on the lowest shelf. Citrus and radishes are visible in the vegetable drawers, with the top shelf containing a bowl of rice, a bowl of soup, eggs, and a few random refrigerator items. Use produce that you grow to pack your fridge full. — A peek inside our fridge after a big winter garden harvest of cauliflower, daikon radishes, citrus, persimmons, bok choy and other leafy greens. Most of the space is dedicated to fresh produce. We also almost always have a big bowl of quinoa or brown rice prepared, ready and waiting to use for the week ahead.

DeannaCat's hand is holding a silicone food storage bag that is full of freshly harvested snap peas. Raised garden beds and a cat laying on the ground make up the background. — A nice haul of snap peas. These reusable silicone food storage bags are great for storing fresh produce, and for freezing it! We use them to freeze whole tomatoes, zucchini, grapes, and more.

Preserve The Rest

Preserving homegrown food is a fantastic way to reduce waste, reap the rewards of your bounty into winter, or simply enjoy something when it’s no longer in season. It’s also an opportunity to transform food items into something different, like a seasoning, jam, pickle, or condiment, which helps to keep things interesting and palatable!

If you browse through the “Preserve Your Harvest” section of Homestead and Chill, you’ll quickly spot my favorite ways to preserve things: ferment, freeze, dehydrate and pickle. We do dip into hot-bath canning on occasion too, but far less than the other preservation methods. Long-term cold storage (such as in a root cellar or refrigerator) is another simple option. I’ve listed some of our favorite preservation recipes below, and if you Google “ways to preserve xyz” you’ll see countless ideas!

A food dehydrator to dry fruit, veggies, herbs, flowers and more. We absolutely love our Excalibur dehydrators and use them almost non-stop! They’re large capacity, quiet, efficient, made in the USA, and BPA-free. I also love how little space dried goods take up in storage.
A Kraut Source fermentation device makes lacto-fermentation a breeze! We’ve been using them for years to make pickles, sauerkraut, fermented hot sauce, and other delicious probiotic-packed goods.
These durable BPA-free freezer containers are great for freezing soups, sauces, broth, jam and more. They’re reusable and protect food from freezer burn.
My good friend Crystal just published a stellar new book called “Freeze Fresh”. It’s PACKED with information on not only how to best freeze fresh produce, but also includes recipes for how to use the frozen produce – which can be the trickiest part!

A picture collage with four images, the first image shows fresh calendula flowers arranged on stainless steel drying racks. The second image shows a hand holding a white bowl full of freshly dried raisins. A few of the dried grapes are on a drying rack in the background. The third image shows a hand holding a freshly dried kale chip, the final image shows dehydrator racks pulled out of the dehydrator in a stair step fashion, each rack is loaded with sliced turmeric pieces. — I’m not kidding when I say we use our Excalibur dehydrators for almost everything! (We have two, one for business and one for personal use). We use them to make seasoned kale chips, apple cinnamon rings, homegrown raisins, sun-dried tomatoes, to dry flowers and herbs like calendula, lavender and basil, or make our own ground seasoning powders from dried chili peppers, onion, garlic, turmeric, leeks, lemon peels and more.

A hand is in the process of placing a Kraut Source unit (lid) on the jar. The Kraut Source unit makes for quick, easy, and safe fermenting. — We’ve been using Kraut Source lids to make lacto-fermented goodies (like these “pickled” dilly green beans) for almost a decade now!

Our Top Preservation Recipes

Compost

Don’t feel bad if some of your homegrown goods end up in the compost! Like, at all. Creating free organic fertilizer at home all while diverting food waste from the landfill and reducing your carbon footprint couldn’t be further from wasteful! Sure, hopefully it’s only a small portion of your edibles hitting the compost, but still. Our worm bin is one of the key ways feed our garden plants – so we need to keep those worms fed, happy, and pooping! Learn 6 different ways to compost at home here, including tumblers, worm bins, hot and passive piles, and more.

Ding-dong-ditch-the-zucchini anyone? When you’re blessed with an abundance, share it! Give away excess homegrown produce to friends, family, colleagues and neighbors. I’m sure they’ll be stoked! You could also consider setting up a roadside “free food” library, or donate to local organizations that help folks in need. Contact your local food bank or homeless shelter, or use this handy zipcode lookup tool from Ample Harvest to find a food pantry that accepts garden donations near you!

Maximize Use, Minimize Waste

The garden presents endless opportunities to nourish yourself AND reduce waste; sometimes in ways you don’t even realize! For instance, did you know that carrot and radish greens, broccoli and cauliflower leaves, fava bean greens, and even the young tender seed pods from bolted radishes are all edible? Check out our fava bean green pesto recipe here!

Daikon radish greens are especially delicious sautéed, or in green juice/smoothies. Carrot tops can make a mean pesto or chimichurri. Older broccoli and cauliflower leaves may be a little tough, but can be treated much like collard greens. And don’t forget leek and onion tops! We save and dehydrate those to turn into leek powder or onion powder.

Similarly, we save and eat most of our thinned seedlings as microgreens. Hellooo radish, kale, and broccoli sprouts! The spoiled chickens get some too. Just don’t eat the seedlings from the nightshade family like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant – they’re toxic.

There are also numerous ways to “up-cycle” food scraps – and turn them into something even better! For instance, we save and use citrus peels to turn into dried lemon peel powder or natural non-toxic household cleaner, and make homemade apple cider vinegar from apple peels and cores (or damaged, mealy fruit). We also save veggie scraps and trimmings in the freezer to later turn into homemade vegetable broth. It’s been a couple years since we’ve brewed kombucha, but we always used to always add garden produce to flavor our booch! See our favorite seasonal “second ferment” flavor combos here.

A glass spray bottle is being held above a wood surface. It is milky yellow as it is filled with vinegar infused lemon from lemon peels. A small half pint mason jar is next to it full of the citrus vinegar as well. Beyond lies a half gallon mason jar, halfway full of lemon peels and pulp which was used to infuse the vinegar. — Homemade non-toxic cleaning spray made from vinegar and citrus scraps. It’s also a fantastic deodorizer!

Various veggie scraps fresh and frozen along with garlic, sprouting yellow onion, fresh sage, bay, rosemary and thyme sit atop a wooden cutting board. Most of the frozen scraps are inside of a large bowl sitting on the cutting board. Use produce scraps to make your own veggie broth. — A collection of frozen veggie scraps and other “undesirable” produce (such as the sprouting onion) that are about to be turned into delicious, nutritious homemade broth.

Four quart size EZ Cap bottles are sitting on a long, skinny coffee table. There are two passionfruit placed around the front of the bottles with one of them being cut in half, displaying its pulpy, tropical goodness. You can faintly read the writing on one of the bottles which labels the flavor as "Passionfruit." The liquid is golden to slight red guava in color. — Flavoring kombucha with homegrown passionfruit (aka lilikoi) was not only a great way to use it up… but probably one of the most delicious booch flavors ever! We also used to use a lot of apple, carrot, citrus, strawberries, beets and melon.

Grow Things Beyond “Food”

For some gardeners, having an excess bounty would be a dream come true! Many folks are contending with a limited amount of growing space, and therefore can only grow a select few plants anyways. However, if you’re blessed with an extra large garden and find that it’s producing more food than you reasonably keep up with, grow something else! In addition to veggies, use extra garden space to grow herbs, perennials, shrubs, flowers for pollinators, or cover crops that will naturally enrich the soil.

Sunflowers growing in half wine barrels are in the foreground. Beyond there are many wooden raised garden beds full of various vegetables from kale, chard, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers, squash, and various other flowers. — Though we built 19 raised beds (plus added many wine barrel planters) for our new garden, we had no intention of filling it all with annual food crops! We knew that’d be too much to handle, and always planned to use a lot of the space for flowers, herbs, and maybe some perennials.

Garden to Table Recipes & Meal Ideas

To wrap it all up, here are a few more vegetarian meal ideas based on things we commonly eat. I’ve linked a few recipes for you as well, though we don’t follow them all that often! After all, one of the keys to successful garden-to-table eating is getting comfortable enough in the kitchen to be able to throw meals together without following a strict recipe at all times. Being able to tweak and adapt a recipe to what you have on hand or in the garden is also essential!

Breakfast

Plain yogurt with granola (light on the granola) topped with hemp hearts, pumpkin seeds, walnuts and/or almonds and seasonal fruit like blueberries, strawberries, figs, apricots… Whatever you grow!
Overnight oats with similar add-ins as above
Smoothies or fresh juice with garden greens, veggies and/or fruit. I’m especially fond of carrot, kale, celery, apple, ginger and lemon together!
Scrambled eggs, black beans, sautéed veggies, guacamole and/or salsa
Sourdough pancakes with homemade fruit preserves, fresh seasonal fruit, ricotta cheese, walnuts and/or pumpkin seeds.
Loaded avocado toast on homemade sourdough bread.
Lately we’ve been making “turnip taters”. We mix half shredded garden turnips, half potatoes (red potatoes or sweet potatoes are especially good), and then cook them like hash browns and serve with eggs, beans, avocado, etc.

A white ceramic bowl filled with cut up figs, strawberries, passionfruit pulp, almonds, granola, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and a half passionfruit full of pulp garnishing the middle. Use produce growing in your yard to start the day off right with a good breakfast. — Ah, this makes me miss our old passionfruit vines! We haven’t planted any at the new homestead yet, but we do have strawberries, blueberries, mulberries, and several young fig trees!

Two sourdough pancakes are covering the surface of a white ceramic plate. It has been garnished with fresh apricot preserves, pumpkin seeds, and slices of apricots and white nectarines. Above the plant lies a wicker basket full of fresh apricots next to a half mason jar full of apricot preserves. Use produce that is in season for every meal. — We were blessed with several mature fruit trees at the new homestead, including a huge apricot tree and a young but prolific white peach. We love to make low-sugar apricot jam… it’s delicious on sourdough pancakes.

A white ceramic plate that is partially covered in sautéd chard. green beans, and mushrooms, scrambled eggs, and two slices of sourdough bread. — Sautéed swiss chard, kale, mustard greens and mushrooms with backyard chicken eggs and toasted sourdough.

Lunch or Dinner

As I mentioned, we make “Buddha bowl” type meals the majority of our dinners. The bottom base will include a modest amount of brown rice, quinoa, black beans, pinto beans, chick peas, lentils, and/or potatoes (including sweet potatoes). Then we pile a heaping portion of seasoned veggies on top, usually sautéed, sometimes roasted or grilled. We finish it all off with a little avocado, kraut, cheese, nuts, seeds, or hemp hearts.
Soup with seasonal veggies, broth, herbs, a grain and/or legume, plus seasonings. We make a lot of “kitchen sink” style soup, tossing in everything we have or need to use (not following a recipe). Yet I’ve posted several soup recipes here, including carrot sweet potato soup, roasted butternut squash, no-chicken noodle, kale lentil and more.
Fiesta-style wild rice stuffed squash – the perfect solution for overgrown zucchini!
Quiche or frittata with seasonal veggies. Kale, spinach, arugula, tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers and onions go especially well with egg dishes.
Sourdough pizza loaded with garden veggies and even homemade sauce. We alternate between using roasted tomato sauce or besto pesto on our pizzas.
Vegan roasted sugar pie pumpkin 3-bean chili with a side of sourdough cornbread.
Zucchini fritters with yogurt dill lemon sauce.
Zoodles with garden pesto, black beans, fresh tomatoes, and a side of sourdough focaccia – shown earlier in this post.

Six cooked zucchini fritters are stacked one atop one another like a stack of pancakes. They are golden grown and the edges reveal a golden yellow quiche like look. The plate has been garnished with chopped chives and two wedges of lemon. A spoon is dropping in from the top of the image dropping a dollop of yogurt dill sauce on the stack. It has landed on the top fritter and has partially slid off the front side of the stack, getting sauce on the remaining fritters below. — Zucchini fritters with dill lemon yogurt sauce and garden chives

A close up photo of the finished pizza. The parchment paper is poking up from around the crust, and there is now chopped basil lightly spread across the pizza surface with a sprig of basil sitting in the middle. You can now see some of the tomatoes have blackened from the bake and the edges of the pizza crust look crispy brown. — Garden pizza with pesto sauce and an herbed whole wheat sourdough crust

A white ceramic bowl full of soup is the feature, fresh cracked black pepper is floating along the top of the soup. A golden spoon is resting next to the bowl along with a white plate that has two freshly toasted slices of sourdough bread that are glistening from the butter that has been spread on the bread. Use produce from a big harvest to make meals for now and more to come in the future by freezing and preserving your food. — One of my favorite garden-to-table soups: creamy (vegan) tomato basil soup, made with fresh, ripe, roasted tomatoes. Add a sourdough grilled cheese on the side? Game over. We always make extra for the freezer too!

Roasted pumpkin chili is shown garnished with avocado slices and cilantro leaves. Surrounding the bowl in a decorative fashion are halves of roasted pumpkin, slices of sourdough bread as well as half of the remaining loaf, half an avocado, sprigs of cilantro, and sprigs of oregano. Use produce to stock your freezer with ready made meals. — Vegan roasted pumpkin 3-bean chili

Lunch or Dinner continued…

Veggie sandwiches. You can stick with classic toppings of hummus, avocado, tomatoes, lettuce, and pickles, or add roasted/grilled zucchini, eggplant, peppers and pickled onions. Check out the beet and apple sandwich below!
Tostadas, tacos or burritos with sautéed, stir-fried, or grilled veggies plus all the other normal fixings
Pasta with garden tomato sauce or pesto (fresh or from the freezer) with fresh sautéed zucchini, snap peas, cauliflower, and basil from the garden. We had this the other night! I really love these organic brown rice noodles.
A veggie burger patty with sautéed veggies and other fixin’s. Costco has some decent organic veggie patty options. We also make our own black bean and quinoa patties and freeze them for future use.
A bowl of madras curry lentils with sautéed seasonal veggies on top, plus a side of sauerkraut
Biryani (Indian rice) stuffed winter squash
Pan-blackened shishito peppers
A big steamed artichoke with dipping sauce and a side of seasoned brown rice and black beans. I love to cook brown rice with a fresh bay leaf for a great pop of flavor! If you’ve never cooked or eaten a fresh artichoke, learn how here. They’re my favorite!

A close up image of the inside half of a cut sandwich. Slices of apple, roasted beets, feta cheese and fresh arugula is sandwiched between two slices of sourdough bread. Use produce in new ways to make interesting dishes. — It may sound weird, but this sando is DELISH. Roasted garden beets with apple, arugula, basil mayo and goat cheese on toasted sourdough. Check out our easy recipe for roasted beets with fresh orange and balsamic vinegar.

Black bean and quinoa veggie burgers displayed on a platter lined with parchment paper. A white ramekin is nestled amongst the burgers full of yogurt dill dipping sauce. The burgers are golden brown and have specks of red bell peppers, black beans, and cilantro. Use produce for foods you can eat now or preserve for the future. — Homemade black bean and quinoa veggie burger patties. These babies are a party hit when made as minis and served a-la-carte with dill yogurt sauce (even room temp or cold), though we make them full burger size too! They do take a bit of effort to make, but you can freeze them for easy future meals.

A white ceramic plate partially full of steamed broccoli and black beans, with a side of coleslaw topped with sunflower seeds and two slices of sourdough bread. Use produce in every meal. — Another simple but highly satisfying meal. Steamed broccoli and black beans, Aaron’s deliciously tangy coleslaw recipe with sunflower seeds, and homemade sourdough.

Are we feeling hungry yet?

I sure am! 😂 I hope this post gives you plenty of ideas of how to use and preserve your homegrown produce so nothing goes to waste! If you have any other clever tips share them in the comments below. Please keep in mind that it took us many years to get to this level of garden-to-table living. It’s an acquired skill, so please don’t feel intimidated! Just do your best and have fun doing it.

I also just realized I didn’t even get into our 20+ favorite vegan and vegetarian holiday recipes today, so be sure to check those out here. Thank you for tuning in, and enjoy!

4 Comments

Chad

June 9, 2022 at 10:02 am Reply

I’ve been following you blog for a couple years. Love all the tips!

Any suggestions for cherry tomatoes other than sun dried? Food dehydrator is not really in the budget right now.

Also, I’ve never seen you post on asparagus. Are there no varieties that grow in your climate zone?
- Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
  
  June 9, 2022 at 11:51 am Reply
  
  Hi Chad, thank you for following along through the years! We really want to grow asparagus but still need to find a space for it as it needs a designated spot for years to come, let alone it can get quite tall. As far as cherry tomatoes go, eating them fresh is obvious but we also like to use them in tomato sauce as well as salsa. When we grow cherry tomatoes, we stick to the varieties we enjoy most so we don’t have any issues using them up in no time. Hope that helps and reach out if you have any other questions.
A.S.

June 6, 2022 at 4:38 pm Reply

Really appreciate the time and effort you put into this article, I love all the information!
Bailey O

June 3, 2022 at 3:17 pm Reply

OH MY!!! Yes, I’m hungry now! This was absolutely awesome to read through! I’m sure I’ll be visiting this article many times to get ideas! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

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