Julie Van Rosendaal: What to do with the harvest rescued after Calgary's snowstorm

Harvest season arrived in Calgary early this year, with home gardeners scrambling to rescue their tomatoes and herbs before our premature snowfall.

As a result, many of us have produce sitting on our countertops, and farmers markets are overflowing with the usual tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, onions and garlic all at their peak, and as inexpensive as theyll get all year.

Here are half a dozen things to do with them. Most double as ways of preserving whatever you have bushels of as cakes, stews and roasted veggies take up less space and are easier to store and freeze than their fresh counterparts.

TheFrenchProvenal vegetarian stew is one of my favourite things to make during the fall. The jumble of onions, garlic, zucchini, peppers, eggplant and tomato can be done in a pot on the stove or roasted in the oven, but I prefer the best of both worlds.

Have one pot simmering with caramelized onions, then quickly brown each batch of diced veggies for added flavour before tossing them into the pot. Simmer until you have a rich, soft, flavourful stew thats wonderful on its own, over pastaor even on toast.

Ratatouille

Set a large, heavy pan or small pot over medium-high heat add a generous drizzle of oil and saut the onions for four to five minutesuntil soft. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another minute or two.

Set a second large skillet over medium-high heat and add another drizzle of oil. When the oil is hot, add the zucchini (in batches, if necessary, so you dont crowd the pan) and saut for two to threeminutesuntil its turning golden and browning on the edges.

Add to the skillet with the onions and cook the peppers and eggplant in the same way, adding extra oil in between each batch and transferring to the pan with the onions as it browns. Add the leaves off a few sprigs of thyme, and/or some finely chopped rosemary (pull the leaves off the stems first) to the onion pan and stir it often as it simmers.

By the end, the second pan will have lots of nice browned bits in the bottom. Add the tomatoes to the pan and stir for a few minutes until they soften and release their juices, loosening those browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add to the remaining ratatouille, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, for 30-45 minutes, or until the mixture is soft and thick. Season with salt.

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Julie Van Rosendaal: What to do with the harvest rescued after Calgary's snowstorm