And So It Begins

The great food preserving adventure began today when I bought 26lbs of green and yellow beans. My children's caregiver actually asked me if I was nuts (it's great that she feels that comfortable with me, though I think she's been talking to my husband) when I came home with a great big box of beans freshly picked from the Orleans Fruit Farm. Nope, but I admit I have my moments these days. It doesn't get any more local or any fresher than that. Straight from a field about 12 kilometres away from our house. All part of our family's effort to eat (and live) more sustainably.

Here's how I treated them in case you're interested in trying this yourself:

- I broke off the ends.

- Washed thoroughly: in a sink of cold water, one batch at a time. Rinse with running water (they were very sandy).

- Blanched them for one minute in boiling water: (though some sites say to do this for three minutes, the lady at the farm said she does for one minute only and it works great for her). I used a 21qt canner thinking it would go faster. You can blanch more at one time, but a tip, start boiling your water while you are still prepping your beans. It takes a long time to boil. You also should wait to bring it to a full boil between batches when you are blanching, so be prepared to multitask (I drafted this post and answered emails while waiting for the water to boil).

- Cooled them in a bath of cold water: again, some recommend ice in the water, I just used cold water, and gave them another quick cold rinse before I drained them.

- Let dry: I did this on clean towels spread out on my kitchen island. If it has been nice out, I would have laid out my towels on the patio table and let them dry in the breeze.

- Freeze in batches on cookie sheets.

- Transfer to freezer bags when frozen. Remove air with a straw before sealing closed.

To be fair, I only got to the green ones this afternoon. I was late getting started. Tomorrow I will finish up the yellow ones. If you're thinking of doing this yourself, I say go for it. It's a long and tedious process, though somewhat therapeutic, and once you start seeing food stack up in your freezer, it's very satisfying. I'm already having visions of enjoying my favorite bean salad next winter. Recipe to follow...