Preserving summer's bounty for cool-season meals doesn’t have to mean standing over a hot stove or a huge investment in canning jars. Fortunately for those of us with little time to spare, there are lots of quick, easy ways to bring the fresh flavors of summer indoors for the winter. And the very best part? By taking the time to put up some veggies this summer, you’ll find cooking meals this winter is easier than ever.

Peppers (both sweet & hot) can be easily preserved by freezing. Just remove the stems and/or seeds, chop them into bite-sized or smaller pieces, spread them onto a baking sheet in a single layer, and place in the freezer until they are dry to the touch. Then use a spatula to scoop them into labeled freezer bags. (This way they will stay loose rather than turning into a large frozen mass.) These peppers taste unbelievably fresh when thrown into pasta sauce or soup in the last few minutes of cooking. TIP: Place small freezer bags of peppers into a large freezer bag. The peppers will stay frozen longer in case of a power outage.

Tomatoes are another great candidate for easy freezing. Cherry tomatoes can be blanched by dropping them into a pot of boiling water, than quickly removing and placing in ice water. Allow them to dry, then pack in labeled freezer bags, and use in cooked dishes as you would fresh tomatoes.

Alternatively, you can make a delicious “instant sauce” inspired by Margaret Roach’s “Tomato Junk”: Simply quarter large tomatoes (or halve smaller ones) and spread onto baking sheets with chopped onions, garlic, olive oil, fresh herbs (really whatever you have on hand) and salt. You can then "true roast" them at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes, or "slow roast" at 275 degrees for about 3 hours--just until the tomatoes are slightly crispy and caramelized around the edges. Allow to cool, then use a spatula to pack into labeled freezer bags. You can even make a pizza sauce batch with extra marjoram and oregano, and puree the whole roasted mess before freezing. TIP: Choose freezer bag sizes that contain about the amount of tomato sauce you’d use in a meal. This way you can simply dump the contents into a pan and heat for a delicious ready-made tomato sauce or minestrone base. For easier cleanup, line baking sheets with parchment paper when roasting tomatoes.

Eggplant can be roasted, pureed in baba ganoush, then frozen, but (in my opinion), is best preserved as ready-to-fry cutlets for eggplant parmigiana. This way there’s no cooking involved during the hot months, and between the eggplant cutlets and your tomato junk, you’ll have many meals already prepped and ready to heat in winter. To make cutlets, cut up eggplants into ¼-1/2” slices and lightly salt each piece. Dip each slice (making sure to coat both sides) first into a bowl of flour, then into a bowl of beaten egg, and finally dredge in a bowl of breadcrumbs. Lay the slices on a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze when the sheet is full. Once the cutlets are frozen, pack in labeled freezer bags. The cutlets can then be removed as needed and baked or fried for eggplant parmigiana.

Sweet Corn is wonderfully easy to freeze. Just shuck the corn (leaving the stem on), then use a knife to carefully cut the kernels off the cob and onto a baking sheet. Once the sheet is full, spread the kernels out evenly and freeze until dry to the touch, stirring a few times, then pack in labeled freezer bags. You can throw the frozen corn into a huge variety of dishes, but it’s especially good in soup, chili and bean dishes. TIP: Freeze sweet corn as soon as possible after harvesting, since the sugars in most sweet corn varieties quickly convert to starches, and the quality declines rapidly.

Pesto is easy, delicious and fantastically versatile in the kitchen. You’ll find it usually makes the most sense to use what’s on hand rather than following a hard-and-fast recipe. My favorite combinations are Cilantro-Garlic Scape, Arugula-Garlic Scape, and of course the classic Basil-Garlic. I’ll remove the stems from whichever herbs or greens I’m using, fill the Cuisinart with them, then add about 2/3 cup of scapes or 4-6 cloves of garlic. Next I put the top on the Cuisinart and turn it on, adding just enough oil while it’s running to get the mixture moving. If it seems like a lot of oil, you can substitute a little water. Then I’ll add about 1/3 cup parmesan cheese (optional), a tablespoon of lemon juice (to taste) and salt (to taste). Right at the end I’ll throw in a small handful of walnuts or pine nuts and continue to blend until nearly smooth.

Once the mixture is smooth, taste and adjust the ratio as needed—if I like it, then it’s time to scoop the pesto into ice cube trays and freeze until solid, then dump the frozen cubes into labeled freezer bags. These pesto cubes are terrific in the winter—a healthy shot of green you can throw into just about anything. TIP: You don’t even have to make actual pesto – just puree any herbs you have in quantity (especially leafy herbs like basils, parsley, cilantro, sorrel, chives, etc) then scoop into ice cube trays, add just enough water or oil to cover, and freeze until solid. Then pack into freezer bags, and voila! Fresh herb flavor at your fingertips, all year round.