Cabbage leaves for later

I pulled the rest of the Napa cabbage from the garden this morning. The heads were beginning to look tired, and frankly, I was getting sick of eating it. I didn't want to throw all 10 heads in the compost pile so I decided to clean it up and save the leaves for later. I chopped the leaves, blanched them for 2 minutes in boiling water, patted them dry on paper towels and put it all in plastic bags in the freezer. I will use the cabbage leaves in soups and stews during the winter.  I also peeled and sliced about 20 cucumbers and placed those in the freezer. I'm thinking that I can use them in my breakfast smoothies. It takes time to wash, chop, blanch and  prepare vegetables for use later in the season, but next winter after the garden has stopped producing and been put to bed, I'll be happy I made the extra effort to save the fresh taste of summer for later.