Its summer so you may end up being the lucky recipient of a friend’s gardening passion in the form of excess tomatoes, squash, etc. I like to take that gesture of generously accepting summer bounty and extending to a year-around mindset for additional savings.
Don’t just think crops, think bigger. For example, my friend’s next-door neighbor was doing a major landscaping renovation. As a result, my friend spied a growing pile of river stones, all ranging in size from peaches to melons. Isn’t that interesting, she thought. So, during a casual chat, she asked what he planned to do with the rocks. Turns out? Absolutely nothing.
Score. We ended up with at least six large buckets of rocks that went to creating run off for the rain gutters. The rest we used to encircle my growing ‘orchard’ of fruit trees in The Enchanted Forest. All for free and a bit of sweat equity. And her neighbor was thrilled to have the rocks removed at no cost and no effort from his side.
It was a win-win.
My friend also had four large glass jars of canned peaches she had no clue what to do with. Now, for the record, I don’t really like commercially canned fruit, but I also knew I could turn the jarred fruit into something special. I ended up making peach cobblers, peach muffins, peach cake and peach ice cream (recipe below). All that with the stash that has been languishing in her pantry. And of course, the unwritten rule of bounty is that the recipient should share the goods she creates with the person gifting the bounty. I did that gladly. Plus, my friend just loves peach cobbler.
Normally, when my garden produces an excess of tomatoes, I simply freeze the excess to make my Fall Pasta Sauce but this year I plan on also dehydrating some to make sun-dried tomatoes and jarring them in good olive oil. Sun-dried tomatoes are expensive and it will cost me next to nothing to make them at home.
In addition, my grandkids are coming to visit and one of them is mad for those cute little oranges, so I bought a large bag in anticipation of her visit and for snacking. We have an agreement that she will save me all the peels so I can make orange marmalade after they leave and I’m missing them terribly. It’s a fall/winter gift for my friends who adore marmalade and I love gifting it and using it in my own kitchen besides.
Once my herb garden goes nuts, I am going to make various herb salts to ensure that I don’t waste a bit of the herby, savory goodness I’ve grown. Herb salts make a thoughtful gifts as well.
So be on the lookout for free gifts and windfalls. From landscaping rocks to jars of food ‘mistakes’ friends are happy to get rid of, you can take advantage of excess everything and save in the process.
Peach Ice Cream
Ingredients
2 cups peaches or other jarred fruit, drained
3 cups heavy whipping cream
1 small can sweetened condensed milk
Method: place all ingredients into a food process and mix well. Freeze for at least four hours. Enjoy.
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the house behind 