Help! I'm drowning in snow peas!

One day's picking of snow peas

I think you can say that the zig zag fence for the snow peas is an unqualified success!  We've already had 4 pickings and today produced a good harvest, a little of which will go in tonight's dinner and the rest will be blanched and frozen in meal-sized packages for the winter.  The fence is only about 8' long but I guess if you stretched it out, it would be 14' long.  It's still standing solidly and the pea vines are well over the top and producing lots of flowers, promise of much more to come.  I'm sure tomorrow will yield just as much as today.  I'm hoping this variety - Oregon Sugar Pod II - will freeze well.  Previously I grew Dwarf Sugar Grey and the frozen peas turned out to be tough and stringy.  Just about inedible.  These peas are only supposed to be about 30" tall, but are well over that already and the package says "great for freezing".  Here's hoping it's truth in advertising!

I nipped the stem ends of the pods and blanched them in boiling water.  You blanch vegetables you plan on freezing to stop the enzyme action which causes vegetables to grow and mature.  The enzymes are still active when the product is frozen and may result in off-colours, off-flavours and toughening.  It only takes a minute or two - the snow peas were just in the water until they turned bright green.  Then they were cooled under cold running water and dumped on a kitchen towel to wick off some of the water.  I packed meal-sized portions in ziplock snack bags, squeezing out the excess air, and put 7 little bags into a larger ziplock bag to keep them together with lots of room to receive the next batch.  The whole process only took about half an hour from the time I started the water boiling.  We'll be able to use the snow peas in stir fries or simply steamed a little as a side dish.  The blanching partially cooks them and very little additional cooking will be needed.

It's a wonderful feeling to look in the freezer and see that your own efforts result in nourishing, home-grown food to warm your family in the winter.