Yes Please

A year ago the garden had been producing nicely and green bean production had begun. But the season did not last long because of the weather and I was not able to get very many bags of processed, cut beans into the freezer. I like having a good supply to take us through the winter but we ran out frozen beans before the year was over. I also missed the opportunity to get any of the beans dried for use in soups and stews.

This year the beans are just now beginning to produce and we are going out a couple of times a week to pick any that are big enough to harvest and freezing small batches in an effort to increase our volume for this winter.

I am using the dehydrator to get the last of the Transparent Apples processed into luscious, dried fruit but anytime I have a tray available I grab a few green beans and chop them into soup sized pieces and add them to the drying session.

Green beans are much more dense than the apples and take twice as long to dry but it is worth the effort. I like to mix dehydrated vegetables off all types, onions, corn, carrots, kale, beets, squash, cabbage and even radishes on occasion although I missed the opportunity this spring.

The mixture of dried veggies changes every year but it is a welcome addition to throw in a handful or two as the crock pot simmers away.