Seven quarts

[koshergrl]

of sweet potatoes put up today.

It only took all day. Well worth it!

 

[JustAnotherNut]

You can sweet potatoes??? I'm impressed

 

[koshergrl]

next up is orange marmalade.

 

[JustAnotherNut]

I made Orange Marmalade last year & still have some left. It's good

 

[koshergrl]

I love orange maralade, if it's not bitter. the flavors change over time. But we eat it like a side dish so it doesn't usually get bitter at our house.

I'm staying home today to can beans

 

[JustAnotherNut]

Green or dry? Mine aren't ready yet & probably not for another month

 

[koshergrl]

Dry, I like navy beans. I joined a fb canning group some years ago and learned how from a guy on there. The National Center for Home Preservation says to soak and kind of par boil the beans first, but this works just fine for me. 90 minutes at 11 lbs is going to kill anything in a bean, whether it's dry or soaked.

I've got 7 quarts in now.

 

[JustAnotherNut]

I grow much of our beans and have Blue Lakes, Cherokee Trail of Tears, Red Chili and Butterscotch. I pick them all young for snap green beans, then let them dry on the vines for dry soup beans. Next year I'll probably include Pintos. Most of my dry beans have come from the store bought packages. Just keep them in a wet paper towel in a plastic bag for about a week......if they sprout, they will grow
I only can with a water bath & won't do dry soup beans. I just cook them when I need them.

 

[koshergrl]

I am not a gardener, I wish I was. Beans are inexpensive food and we eat them often but i work and they take a long time to cook. So I like to have canned ones on hand that I can just heat up after work when I don't want to cook and don't want to buy prepared food. I like to can beans, chicken, jams, applesauce....I have canned green beans, I was raised on green beans in pot liquor and I love them but none of my kids like them much. The home canned dry beans work really well for baked beans, too.

 

[JustAnotherNut]

Most of the time that we eat dry beans is in a pot of ham & beans soup. Crock pot does wonders & saves a lot of hassle, especially with beans. Just put everything in the crockpot in the morning and they're done but suppertime. Then mix up & bake some cornbread. YUM