Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Go green!




...beans that is.

Although the title could be referring to my alma mater...

Not today. Today it's about beans.

The one vegetable that I've consistently had success with in my garden is green beans. I've ordered "Provider" bush beans from seed companies the last few years, and they sure do well. This year I planted them in stages, doing a few rows one day then another few rows a couple weeks later. Then at the end of July, when I knew my peas were done and my carrots hadn't filled in their space, I planted the rest of my bean seeds -- including those from a 2-year-old packet. They ALL came up! And they ALL got blossoms! Then one day last week I went out to water them and realized they ALL had tons of beans on them already!! My biggest problem with green beans is not harvesting them quickly enough, and letting them get too big and over-ripe. I was NOT going to let that happen this time.

So I took my bowl and my daughter outside and started picking.


Then we came in and I started snipping. I just used my hands (if I'd had a bigger batch I probably would have used a knife), and snipped off the two ends of each bean and then broke the bean into 2-3 pieces. Pretty soon Abby decided she wanted to sit on the couch with me. Then she decided she wanted to "help" me.

 

I'm glad she likes them. :) Although with only 4 teeth it took her awhile to eat...

Then I prepped the beans for freezing. I "blanched" them -- put in boiling water for 3 minutes, then put them in ice water in the sink for 3 minutes.




This process essentially starts the beans cooking, but then the cold water shocks the enzymes or whatever to stop cooking, so they will stay fresh in the freezer.


And voila! A bag of frozen green beans to cook and eat sometime this winter. I don't have much room in our little freezer above the fridge to do much of any true "freezer cooking", but this is something that will fit! :)

Do you can or freeze things from your summer garden to eat throughout the winter?





16 comments:

  1. We're huge fans of green beans around here! Unfortunately, we don't have a garden, but we hope to have one after we move. By the way, your little one is adorable.

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  2. Great post - thanks for sharing with NOBH!
    I remember bringing in big buckets of green beans and going through all those steps to freeze them when I lived at home. It's a big job, but a blessing to put up your own harvest.
    Stefanie

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  3. Aww thanks! I think she's pretty cute too ;-)

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  4. Thanks for following my blog! Your green beans look great. I planted some this summer, gave up on them early and tore half of them out. Then, I realized they were covered in green beans. Next year I will have more patience! :) I am your newest follower!

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  5. so cute! my daughter would not eat veggies anymore.
    we don't have a garden but i love to freeze things.
    im now following you too.

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  6. cute pictures! following via the whimsical wednesday hop...

    http://livinthemommylife.blogspot.com

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  7. Hi!!! I'm stopping by and following you from Whimsical Wednesday Blog Hop. I hope you'll check out my blog Frazzled Mama at http://frazzled-mama.com and follow me back.

    Hope you have a great rest of the week.

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  8. What a great idea, though I've never been handy in the garden. Still, with all of the fresh farmer's markets in my area, I can skip the growing part.

    Stopping by (and following) from the blog hop.

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  9. Hello newest follower from the hop look forward to reading your posts thanks for sharing great looking green beans
    http://everydayproductsandmore.blogspot.com

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  10. Oh m y fav fav fav fresh veggie from the garden. Love to just pick and eat like your little one. ENJOY!
    Love the site. We are twin moms raising tots of our own now. Found you thru Wild Wednesday and hope u will check us out too at
    http://twinswithtots.blogspot.com
    Cathy and Becca

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  11. Yummy! That looks so good... and healthy!

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  12. We desperately want a garden but will have to wait a while before we can start one. It seems easier to maintain than I thought. Great stuff! Thanks for hopping with me at The MamaZone.

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  13. She is adorable! My mom used to freeze freshly grown veggies when we were growing up, I plan to start after I read up on it all!
    new follower following on twitter,fb and gfc
    id love a follow back
    http://ohhthejoysofboys.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  14. When I have something to keep...

    I tried to grow a garden at camp this year..we don't get enough sun.

    I got 3 small tomatoes, 5 or 6 beans and some itsy-bitsy hot red peppers!

    Visiting from the Finding New friends Weekend Blog hop...

    Have a great weekend!

    Carolee
    Come on home - mom blog
    Working at home advice

    ReplyDelete
  15. Good job with the green beans! Hi. Following you from the Finding New Friends Weekend Hop. Would love a follow back on my blog:  Prowling Books In the Lair. Thanks! I’m having an iPad 2 Giveaway and a Nook Color Giveaway on my blog and I would really love for you to enter! iPad 2 Giveaway

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  16. New follower from Finding New Friends blog hop! Hoping you follow back!! =0)

    My Crazy Life

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