23 August 2010

On storks and salami-corn

Did you know that storks build huuuuuuuuuge nests on top of telephone poles? No really. I'm serious. I didn't believe it either until we saw these two teenager storks flying around and then landing in their nest. This picture was taken about 30 km outside of Zagreb. There were stork nests all over the place. And these huge young storks flying around learning to get the hang of their wings. I of course made sure NOT to stand underneath the flying storks or under that nest.



It is harvest season around here, and I've been busy getting food from the farm and freezing it all. I've got one of those vacuum machines that sucks all the air out of freezer bags so that the food doesn't get freezer burn. I ran out of big bags, and so was left with a bunch of long skinny bags that are normally used to store things like salami and sausages. So I decided to freeze my corn in the salami bags.

I just took the fresh corn. Peeled off all the outer leaves and corn silk. And just stuck them in the salami bags and then vacuum packed and froze them. In the winter months, I just have to take the corn out of the bags, and stick the entire frozen cob into a pot of boiling water for about 15 minutes for farm-fresh corn-on-the-cob in winter!!!



It worked so well, that I packed my tomatoes the same way! Here are my salami-tomatoes:



Okay, gotta wash, chop and bake about 100 eggplant. Haven't figured out what sort of freezing bags I'll use yet.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Gab,
We saw stork nests in Spain, in Madrid, I think it was. They are so huge! Kind of like bald eagles but probably larger. Thrilling to see.

And your food made me hungry. You're SO innovative!

Good blog.
Susan

Gabriella said...

I can't even imagine how big a bald eagle's nest must be!

ReneJK said...

Hi Gabriella
I read somewhere that you have bought a peka pan ?
did you ever get to try it out and can you tell me where you bought your Pan ?
thanks
Rene

Gabriella said...

Believe it or not, I got my peka at Bauhaus! Go to the part of the store where they have outdoor barbecues and patio furniture and you will find the peka pans there in a few different sizes. Mine is made of cast iron and has a bottom and top part.

I did not use my own peka yet because I do not have a rostilj. But I did learn that you are not supposed to cook the food in the bottom of the cast iron pan (mine is not smooth inside, but rather rough). You just have to go somewhere like Nama and buy a stainless steel round pan that fits in the bottom of your peka. Put the food in the stainless steel pan, and put that pan in the peka. Cover with the top part of the peka, and put the whole thing in the rostilj and cover with hot coals.

Hope that helps a bit.

Elisa said...

That's very interesting about the storks.

So I learned via a friend, that you can freeze figs as well and just defrost them and enjoy them as if they were fresh. ( I learn something new everyday).

that's alot of eggplants!

Gabriella said...

I'm getting out my vacuum packing machine and some bags and will hunt for figs tomorrow and freeze them. I'll let y'all know how they turn out some time in November!