The taste of summer

"If I could save time in a bottle. ..."

Yeah, it's corny. Way corny. Like most places now, when those plump, oh-so-sweet kernels bursting in your mouth are a special pleasure of summer. Ditto those amazingly red tomatoes right out of the garden, and the aromatic basil growing wild just outside the kitchen door.

These garden wonders, along with sleek, purple eggplant, brightly colored peppers and sunny yellow squash are a perfect distillation of all that is summer, the heat of the day that gives way to a long, leisurely evening on the deck and the chatter of children ditching their PlayStations for a bike ride.

Oh, for a little taste of that in January or February, when the thought of another hearty stew or pot of beans is just too much to bear.

Amy Condon, who with her husband, Richard, owns Cottonwood Farms, near Boulder, Colo., knows how to save that taste of summer.

"I freeze corn every year if I do nothing else," she says. "That is just the most wonderful thing in the winter at Thanksgiving or Christmas. I don't put anything on it, no salt, no pepper, no nothing. It just tastes like summer."

As does her corn soup with green chiles and a hint of curry. She pulls that out of the freezer, adds a little chicken, and summer makes another appearance when the ground is covered with snow.

While many people find canning daunting, preserving food by freezing is a simple matter, requiring only a kettle, boiling water — to give the veg in question a hot bath to stop enzymatic action — ice water and a freezer bag.

It's not a perfect process. While freezing does preserve a vegetable's taste, its texture is lost, making frozen vegetables great for cooking but not for eating out of hand. Still, the taste alone can be a revelation in the dark days of winter.

"If you're going to cook with (the vegetables) anyway, you don't really mind the fact that they will change consistency or get watery," Condon says. "You can always cook that down or pour the water off."

Some summer stalwarts such as peaches don't even require blanching. Simply, peel, slice, put in a bag and freeze. While the texture is not the same, they're great for smoothies or in your morning yogurt. They can be baked into a pie or cobbler.

"You don't have to make a project of it," says Condon of freezing summer produce. "Who has that whole day to can (or freeze)? When you buy corn, buy a dozen ears and put a bag of corn in the freezer."

To get corn ready, Condon shucks it and removes the silk, plunges it in boiling water for four minutes and then in ice water for four minutes. She has a special cutter to cut it off the cob, although a sharp knife will suffice. The blanched corn is ready for freezing and later eating.