Freezing Yellow Squash

As I mentioned in my last post Dork and I were recently given some fresh vegetables. Along with the cucumbers, we were also given a bunch of yellow squash. Squash is something that neither Dork nor Quirky are even remotely going to eat, so lucky me, I get to keep it all for myself. I knew that I would have to eat squash for meal in order to eat it before it spoiled, so I decided to freeze it instead. Doing this will allow me to take a handful out to sauté for myself whenever I would like. The process itself was fairly simple and would work well for most fresh vegetables. This is what I did.

First you need to wash your squash really well. Be sure to remove all traces of soil from the skin. Next slice your squash into medium sized slices, and set aside. I chose to slice mine in the round but I suppose anyway you like is fine. Next fill a large pot about half full with water and, set it on the stove to bring to a boil. Meanwhile while your water is heating up, prepare a large bowl full of ice water. This needs to be really cold. Place this bowl within reaching distance of your pot of boiling water.

After your water comes to a boil, toss in the squash in a blanch them, which is just a fancy way of saying boil for 3-4 minutes. Be sure to time this, you do not want to cook your squash to a mush. Using a slotted spoon scoop out the squash and immediately place it in the ice bath. This process stops the cooking. Add ice as needed to keep the water cold. Once your squash is completely cold, pour through a strainer, to remove the water. Shake off as much excess water as possible. I allowed mine to sit for just a moment in a bowl, allowing any extra water to drip off. If too much water is left on it will freeze into a solid block, and be just about impossible to take just what you want or need.

Place the squash in a freezer safe ziplock bag or container. Last, if desired, drizzle with olive oil and season to taste. For my first bag I added a dash of garlic powder and a little Italian seasoning, and for my second bag it was just a dash of chili pepper. Now my squash is seasoned and ready to sauté anytime I like.