Produce Overload and Planning Ahead

Oh my, if being here for almost two weeks has taught me anything (unrelated to chemistry), it is that I do enjoy a good Farmers Market. Until recently, I had not attended a good weekend market since the beginning of May! For me, this is an unbelievable oddity. Here, there is so much great produce that I almost don't know what to do with myself and I'm in danger of buying more than I can eat in a week. But there is a solution for that...

I've been trying to plan ahead and stock up my freezer with in season produce and quick meals, though the quick meals are still a little lacking. (I blame this on the fact that I've been eating rather simply while the produce is still in season and very fresh.) I got an extra two pounds of tomatoes last weekend and made some pasta sauce from scratch, blended together an olive oil and basil base for quick pestos or sauce additions, as well as chopped up and froze some hot peppers. As soon as I spot red bell peppers at the market, I am going to snatch them up to freeze as well. (The lack of sighting might be due to the fact that I visited the market rather late the past two weekends...)

Tonight, a batch of V'con vodka tomato sauce was thrown together, and I think that the block of tofu in my fridge is begging to be made into cashew ricotta for either pizza or calzones; I can't decide. Any leftover dough will be saved and frozen for later use. Once fall starts, not that I want the warm weather to go away any time soon, I'll make sure to make a bunch of fresh soups and freeze them as well. I want to be fully prepared for when the semester gets crazy and, heaven forbid, I don't have the time to spend an hour or two in the kitchen on a regular basis. It is bound to happen since I started mapping out the semester today to see when intense lab grading weeks fall at the same time as tests and other busy times for my own classes. Oh, the life of a first year grad student...

As a bonus, here is a lovely view from my excursion last Sunday to the state park in Watkins Glen!