Beans For All Seasons

Rachael and Agnolia were delighted when Pricilla stopped by The Hill Top Farm Farm Stand and purchased two bushels of green beans, a large bag of dill, a bag of basil leaves and some fresh tarragon. As she helped Pricilla carry the beans and herbs to her car, Agnolia said, "What are you going to do with all those beans?" Pricilla replied-

Pickle them! I have a family of pickle lovers. For years I put up bushels of cucumbers. It was getting a bit boring having either bread & butter pickles or dill pickles on the table every night. Last year I started pickling beans with different herbs and now we can have a different pickle every night of the week.

Agnolia, who was interested in any recipes that used herbs, said, "Where did you get the recipes?" Pricilla responded -

Last year I bought Andrea Chesman's book, Summer in a Jar: Making Pickles, Jams & More. I like Andrea Chessman's cookbooks because you can rely on the recipes. I heard she tries every recipe and serves the food to her family. If the recipes don't work, or the results aren't very good, she won't publish the recipe. The book, Summer in a Jar, has half dozen recipes for pickled beans; my favorites are Dilly Beans, Chilly Dilly Beans, Basil Beans and Tarragon Beans.

When Agnolia told Rachael what Pricilla was going to do with her herbs and beans, Rachael suggested they get Summer in a Jar for The Hill Top Farm Farm Stand. That afternoon, Agnolia drove down to the bookstore and purchased two copies of Summer in a Jar.

When she got back to The Hill Top Farm Farm Stand Agnolia drilled a hole through the upper left corner of both books. Drove a nail into the wall above the herbs, and another nail above the vegetables. On the cover of each book, she placed a label which read -

For one Quart of Pickles Dilly Beans - see Page 47 - Ingredients

• 4 cups of Green Beans
• 2 Heads of Dill
• 2 Small Onions
• Basil Beans - see Page 49 - Ingredients
• 4 cups of Green Beans
• 20 Fresh Basil Leaves
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• Tarragon Beans - see Page 52 - Ingredients
• 4 cups of Green Beans
• 3 Sprigs Fresh Tarragon

WEBSITE DESIGN BY FCGNETWORKS