It was a beautiful sunny day.
I was jumping for joy about the afternoon veggie pick-up from our CSA. Everything yummy seemed to be coming up for harvest and there were too many veggies to eat in a week before the next veggie pick-up.
I decided to spend some of this lovely evening preserving a few things.
Roma tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, red bell peppers, zucchini, sweet corn, and broccoli. It was a sight to behold.
Glorious farm vegetable goodness… I was a happy girl.
UNTIL.
It happened when I got to the broccoli.
I was washing and trimming and lining pans with foil to do a quick freeze when I turned to trim a bit more broccoli and…
…there it was.
A CABBAGE WORM.
I hadn’t run into one of those in awhile.
My friends, I would like to tell you that I quietly and calmly took the little guy outside so he could enjoy the rest of this beautiful sunny day. However, every bit of adrenaline in me all seemed to rush at once and I screamed like nobody’s business.
I jumped around the kitchen and caused quite the commotion. I was in full-blown panic mode, the ugly kind.
My husband and kids came running in, fearing the worst. Surely I was gravely injured.
Imagine their surprise when I told them all about how I bravely fended off the cabbage worm that nearly killed me and that I’m certain it was planning to come for them, too 😀
Whew. All is well now.
Next time, I’ll plan to search the broccoli first and look for those little guys, because being lost in happy thoughts and then being surprised by a worm isn’t good for my husband’s heart 😉
Freezing Broccoli
My method for freezing broccoli is simple: I wash and trim the broccoli into bite-size pieces, and blanch them for a minute in a large pot of boiling water. Then I strain them and pat them somewhat dry on a clean kitchen towel. (I’m using kitchen towels from Grove; they are amazing.)
Transfer the broccoli onto a foil-lined cookie sheet and spread to a single layer.
Set the cookie sheet in the freezer for an hour so the broccoli can begin to freeze. They should be slightly firm and have a slight crunch to them when you pull them out.
Gently transfer them into a freezer bag and freeze for later use in soup, stir-fry, etc.
Enjoy!
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my mom told me her method oc getting rid of those little buggers. fill lg. bowl with cool water a little vinegar and some salt. about 2Tb. add broccoli and weight down with a plate for about 20 min. all the little worms should float up to the top. rinse and process as usual. hope that helps and you don’t get anymore surprises.