Harvest 2011 - Pole (green) Beans

Generally speaking, growing your own vegetables is a boost to your budget and to your taste buds.

We have undeniably planted an adequate amount of pole beans.  We have been eating the beans fresh for weeks, freezing every bit of surplus, and eating more beans.   Our bean budget is in good shape.

Personally, I do not even like beans.  As a vegetable, beans are one step above the cucumber in terms of my taste  satisfaction.  I have to admit, they have more flavor than a cucumber, but one that is about as gratifying.  Remember, I am a sweet corn enthusiast.

Glenn, on the other hand, likes beans; so we plant beans. 

And, when you plant beans, you usually harvest quite a colossal amount - you cannot avoid it, unless you do not plant beans at all.  We try to slow the harvest down by checking the vines every other day rather than daily as is essential.  This practice results in a bucket of beans suitable for the chickens, but it does not slow down the production. The beans are over-mature (you  can see the bean seeds developing inside the pod) and not fit for human consumption.  All I can say is that our chickens must be super healthy with all the vegetables they eat per diem.  And, they do not complain.  They seem to flourish on their diet supplemented with veggies.

What I do like about the freezing process is that it is very easy - clean the beans, snap off the ends (to chickens), snap the beans into 1-2" pieces, blanch in boiling water, bag and freeze.  The blanching treatment turns the beans from their dull garden green at picking to a brilliant emerald green as they come out the water - oh, so pretty and if I do say so myself, appetizing.

I will admit, I have eaten some very good fresh bean-based dishes. The latest was just last week when Glenn saw a recipe on a bread crumb container - Good Value brand (continuing the budget-minded theme).  It was simple.  Two pounds of green beans (cooked until tender), butter, bread crumbs and seasoning. For a non-bean lover, this recipe was tasty.  The only downside was that two pounds of beans makes enough beans for at least a week's worth of dinners for two. Fortunately, the leftovers were just as good, if not better, than the dish prepared fresh.

But, next time, I will certainly cut the recipe in half.  Three straight days of beans is quite enough for me, thank you.