Category Archives: food preservation

All Things Cranberry

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There are some pretty standard Thanksgiving side dishes that are just required to be on the table and cranberry sauce is one of them. Many people I talk to claim to not really like cranberry sauce for me to later find out they are referring to the jellied store bought canned sauce they grew up with sitting on a plate that was still in the shape of the can, ridges and all. Well yeah… that ISN’T very good! If you haven’t had home made cranberry sauce, then you really are missing out! The internet is overflowing with amazing cranberry sauce recipes and each and every one of them are super easy to make!

Fresh Cranberries are cheap this time of year and even freeze really well! I always stock up on them around now. I don’t live somewhere that I can grow them myself or I absolutely would! Grab some extra bags of fresh cranberries and have them handy for after the Thanksgiving rush of baking so you can pull that canner out again! Cranberries are naturally acidic and are very easy and safe to can! You can even try fermenting them! I have some in the pantry now fermenting in honey.

Canning cranberry sauce is a very easy project and you can have home made cranberry sauce ready for whenever the urge strikes you. Simply make your cranberry sauce and can it using the same processing time as mentioned for the juice. Most cranberry sauces consist of only acidic ingredients (other than the seasonings) so safety isn’t really a concern here. Just don’t add any nuts before canning if you like nuts in your cranberry sauce.

Ok so why do you want to can all this cranberry sauce if you only eat it on Thanksgiving and Christmas!? Well that’s easy! Eat it on more than just Thanksgiving and Christmas!

There are tons of ways to enjoy cranberry sauce other than the obligatory spoonful of cranberry sauce on your plate 2 days a year!

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Spoon a little over your cheesecake or pound cake.

Put some on a sandwich (of course I also mean those left over turkey sandwiches).

Try stirring some mayo or cream cheese into the cranberry sauce for an amazing sandwich spread.

Use as a filling for small single serving pies.

Add some to your yogurt and granola for breakfast.

Make your own pop tarts with that left over pie crust.

Add a spoonful to your oatmeal.

Whip up some cranberry butter for toast or muffins.

Use as an ice cream topping.

Make a glaze for meats or create your own BBQ sauce recipe.

Add some to the top of your cream cheese covered bagel.

Create your own cranberry vinaigrette salad dressing by adding a spoon full of cranberry sauce to some oil and vinegar.

Use cranberry sauce in muffins, cakes, and bread recipes.

Cranberry Bars and cheesecake bars .

Mix in with apples or other fruit to make a cobbler, crisp, or pie.

Cranberry cookies.

Add to some roasted root vegetables.

Add to smoothies.

Serve with brie and crackers.

Make sure you don’t miss this opportunity to stock up on cranberries and hit up those after holiday sales in the grocery stores!

Happy Homesteading!

Cowboy Candy

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Jalapeños are still in abundance this fall in the garden! One of the ways we preserve the harvest is making Cowboy Candy. Cowboy Candy is something my family, friends, and extended family just simply can’t get enough of. I make well over 2 dozen jars of it every year and still run out. That’s a LOT of jalapeños by the way! They cook down quite a bit so a ton of jalapeños doesn’t actually make that many jars. Cowboy Candy on EVERYTHING! Put it on baked potatoes, chili, sandwiches, or just eat it out of the jar!

I am often asked for the recipe and I like to act like it’s some kind of secret. It’s not though. It’s just a basic recipe that has never let me down. It does make extra brine. Go ahead and put that in another jar and get that canned up too! You can make a marinade out of it or a glaze. I’ve seen people suggest adding some to Bloody Marys. You could give a kick to a homemade salad dressing. Get creative!

I do recommend wearing gloves because when you cut up a bunch of jalapeños, it can be tough to wash the juices off. You do NOT want to be the one who rubs your eye later and have regrets (speaking from personal experience here)!

I personally prefer to cut the slices by hand. My husband loves to help. Okay, I’m joking but he helps anyway.


*If you are not experienced with canning, I recommend you reach out to your local extension or other trusted source for instruction on safe canning procedures.

Cowboy Candy

Water Bath canning recipe. Delicious on a cracker with some cream cheese, in a sandwich or sub, on a baked potato or chili.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Equipment

  • water bath canner
  • canning accessories (jar lifter, etc)
  • pint or half pint jars
  • new canning lids
  • canning rings
  • knife or food processor with slicer
  • gloves

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/2 lb jalapeños
  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp celery seed

Instructions
 

  • Wear gloves to protect your hands
  • Remove the stems of the jalapeños
  • Slice in 1/4 inch slices with knife of food processor slicer
  • Put all ingredients except jalapeños into a big pot
  • Bring to a boil
  • Add jalapeños, bring to a boil and cook down for 5 minutes
  • Prepare your canning jars
  • Fill each jar and add juice leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Make sure you get out any air bubbles, pack peppers in tightly.
  • wipe rim with damp cloth, apply lid and ring, screw on fingers tight and into the water bath canner it goes.
  • Process 1/2 pints for 10 minutes or pints for 15 minutes.
  • Take jars out of canner and let cool completely on a towel.
  • Check seals, clean jar and store (I always store my canned items without ring)

Happy Homesteading!

Homemade Crackers

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If you have children, your pantry likely has in it some snack food items you wouldn’t be proud of. Mine sure does. Fortunately they do love fruit and veggies but they very much enjoy munching on some crunchy carbs. Goldfish, pretzels, chips, popcorn, and crackers are regularly requested. The convenience of packaged junky snack food easily creeps into our lives over and over. When the prepackaged food is so easy to just buy, open, and eat, it’s easy to eat a little too much and a little too often. There is something special about participating in the preparation of your food. The love and work that go into something is important. The appreciation for the effort involved in food preparation helps you to take a moment and be present instead of just gobbling up the convenience food around you. Making things from scratch isn’t just frugal. Going through the process of start to finish, from-scratch cooking, connects you to your food, allows you to savor every bite, and can help to be mindful of portion control. 

 When you or your children really just want crunchy carbs, try making some homemade goodies with real ingredients and no chemical preservatives!
Homemade crackers are easy to make and fun to do with the children. Who doesn’t love using a cookie cutter?! A few simple ingredients you already have and you can whip some up. 

The spices you can use for this recipe are endless. You can make them sweeter and add cinnamon, you can go savory with garlic and onion. Really whatever makes you happy here! Get creative!

Homemade Crackers

Easy to make with ingredients you already have.
Fun for kids.
Great with soup, jam or a stand-alone snack
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Course Snack

Equipment

  • mixing bowl
  • rolling pin
  • cookie cutter
  • toothpick
  • pastry brush
  • lined cookie sheet

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2-3 tsp spices of your choosing
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cracked pepper
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 cup water
  • course salt
  • more oil for brushing

Instructions
 

  • Mix together your flour, sugar, baking powder, salt/pepper, and spices of your choosing in your mixing bowl.
  • Make a well in the center of your flour and add oil and water.
  • Incorportate the oil and water into the flour mixture until it forms a ball of dough.
    If the dough is too wet, add small amounts of flour until you are able to make a dough ball.
    You want the dough to still be somewhat tacky.
  • Onto a floured surface, roll out your dough evenly and very thin, no more than 1/4 inch thick.
  • Use cookie cutter (or pizza cutter or knife) to cut out your crackers.
  • Transfer crackers to a lined cookie sheet.
  • Use a toothpick to "prick" each cracker 3-5 times each.
  • Using pastry brush, brush oil onto each cracker.
  • Sprinkle the crackers with course salt.
  • Bake in oven at 400 degrees F for 12 minutes.
  • Allow crackers to cool and store on counter in sealed container.
    These crackers do not have preservatives in them and the humidity in your home could affect how long they can be kept. Store in fridge if you need to store them for more than a few days.
Keyword crackers

Gift Ideas From the Homestead

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Every year I tell myself this year will be the year that I do not procrastinate. This year I will start my Christmas gift preps early. I will make a plan and get things done long before Thanksgiving. Well.. it IS before Thanksgiving but I wouldn’t say its “long before” Thanksgiving. Maybe I’m writing this to inspire myself to get on the ball and perhaps to help you to get on the ball if you haven’t made your plans yet.
This is the time of year that the big box stores have Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas decor out all at once. It is a big fat reminder that the last three months of the year just zip by in a blur. From costume parties, Thanksgiving dinners, and all the holiday parties that get crammed in December, it’s very easy to get overwhelmed trying to plan Christmas gifts especially if you’re trying to make homemade goodies for the people you love.
I find the best thing to do is to make a list of all the people you give gifts to and fill in with ideas for what kinds of home made goods you could make for them. Pinterest boards with gift ideas are a great way to help you sort through all your ideas. 

Homesteaders tend to come with an array of different skills from sewing and crocheting/knitting to wood working, soap making, home brewing and so much more.  Use the skills you already have! This might be a fun time to step outside the box and learn a new skill! Look around and see what kinds of things you can do with what you’ve got. If you have bees, obviously honey and beeswax products are a good place to start. Getting the kids involved is the best especially if the gift is for the grandparents!


Below is a list, in no particular order to help inspire some gift ideas. A launching point, if you will. Quite a few of these require some advanced planning times. You may have to add some of these to next years list. Thats ok! Get a head start on next year’s planning! There are so many more things that can be added to this list. Please feel free to comment on this post to help expand the list!

-DIY flower press (or gifts made with flowers you pressed) This is a fun gift for a child or adult so they can make their own pressed flowers. Out of the pressed flowers you can make all sorts of things from jewelry to stationary, magnets, sun catchers etc. 

-Rag rug. This may be one of those “learn a new skill” kinds of things.

-Homemade basket (wooden, rope, fabric, crocheted) 

-Woodworking and wood burning. The options here are endless. (Porch sign, wooden tray, noodle board, bird house or feeder)

-Grape vine wreath. If you have grape vines or access to wild vines, making wreaths are a fun way to use them.

-Gourd bird house or other gourd crafts. Put part of the garden to use in growing your own gifts! 

-Herbal tea blends

-Soaps 

-Crocheted or knitted items 

-Candles 

-Canned goodies (pickled items, jams etc)

-Baked goods 

-Baking mixes. Put together a baking mix into a jar with a cute label with instructions. Everything is better when it comes in a mason jar.  

-Soup mixes. Use your home grown beans and dehydrated veggies to put together soup mixes.

-Home made vanilla extract. This takes a little time to be ready but is super easy to make. 

-Infused vodkas. This one also takes a while before they are ready but its fun and easy to put together. I like to make a bunch of small ones so there’s a variety.

-Bath bombs

-Dehydrated food. Get creative with your dehydrated goods for the year. Veggies, fruits, herbs, you name it.

-Wood carved items (such as bowls or spoons) This may be another “learn a new skill” gift. It’s always fun to learn a new skill.  

-Grow Job’s tears to make jewelry (from these are a plant that produces “beads”). 

https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vegetables/grains-and-cover-crops/job-s-tears

-Body butter

-Lip balms 

-Luffa items packaged for bath or cleaning. Growing luffa has been super popular in recent years. Find ways to make them into gifts.  

-Home made beer

-Home made wine or mead

-Pottery 

-Homemade room sprays with essential oils 

-Seeds form your garden

-Propagated plants 

–Meat rubs 

-Herbed salts 

-Herbed or flavored sugar



Every year I try to make a few home made gifts for the people on my list. Here are a few I’ve remembered to take pictures of! 

What kind of home made gifts are on your to do list this year ?

Happy Homesteading!

Planting a Gift to the Future

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  • My mother on the tractor and my great grandfather
  • My grandmother and great grandfather
  • My grandmother with her pigs

My great grandfather was a hunter, fisherman, and a farmer and lived in a time where people raised and grew their own food. At least some of it and you were better off if you could grow and raise most of it. They had chickens and a garden of course. There were pigs too. As time went on, those things faded away. They got older and could no longer farm and keep up with chickens and pigs etc. Modern ways snuck into their lives bit by bit.  Now when you walk that property there’s no evidence of many of those things. I couldn’t tell you where the chicken coop was kept or where their garden was. I don’t know where they kept the pigs. (When I was a young child, there were pigs managed my him and my grandfather in a separate location. That I do remember)  What IS left though is the gift he planted for the future. 

When my great grandfather buried 3 pecans in the dirt and nurtured 3 small pecan trees into full grown producing trees, I wonder if he was imagining his great great grandchildren running around in the fall and picking them up off the ground. Could he fathom how special it would be one day when his great great granddaughter would help pick all the pecans out of the shells so her 9 year old brother could make a pecan pie from scratch for Thanksgiving with his family by himself?  When he planted all the blueberry bushes, the apple trees, and the figs, did he picture his great granddaughter in her kitchen furiously canning, and freezing and dehydrating those very fruits he planted? He planted other fruit trees as well but some didn’t make it through various hurricanes etc.

My son with with homemade pecan pie and my daughter with her pumpkin pie from our pumpkins we grew.

This is the time of year, we go up and see how many pecans we can pick up. It normally takes several trips to gather them.  My grandfathers “pecan picker upper” (that’s the technical name isn’t it?) was left in his garage and I just think using it is kind of special. His apple picker was in there too and I grabbed both so nothing would happen to them! 

As a kid I remember the extra freezer in my great grandmothers house was full of blueberries and pecans. My grandfather would sit on the back porch and crack pecans all winter. He would sometimes do it in the kitchen when it was too cold and my grandmother would get frustrated by the mess he’d leave. I’m certain that he would be proud of us and our evolving little homestead. I’m sure that it would touch his heart to know that generations later, his hard work is appreciated.

The one thing I have really dropped the ball on at this property is planting fruit trees, nut trees, and bushes. I just haven’t committed to the spaces to put them. I need to just pull the trigger and do it. “They say” the best time to plant a fruit tree is 5 years ago. As we come up on 4 years here I think, “Man!! How big our trees would already be if I had just done it then!” And then I think about my kids growing up and picking fruit from our trees and bushes that I plant and possibly their children and so on and I know I need to just get them in the ground! You don’t always know who the gift is for down the line but go ahead and plant that tree. It will bring joy on another day.. to you, to your family, and to the unknown. It is said that a planting a garden is faith that tomorrow will come. Planting a tree is putting faith in the long term future.


So for now, this year, we will enjoy what we have and enjoy what was given to us. Appreciating what has been provided by the past. The gift to the future that my great grandfather gave us. These pecans are here because my great grandfather was providing food security to the future. 

What’s stopping you from planting that tree?

Happy Homesteading!

My great grandfather and me.

Canning Applesauce

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Did you know the only apple native to North America is the crab apple and they are actually members of the Rose family?

Apples go with fall as much as pumpkins and mums! We are still in full swing canning mode, furiously puttin’ up for winter and apples are in the queue!
I’ve yet to start growing apples here. I’m still looking for just the right variety for this area. Apple trees benefit from the cold and it simply doesn’t get that cold here but I will find it and I WILL grow some! Any one have any suggestions for a nice multipurpose apple that will grow well in northeastern North Carolina?

Applesauce, apple butter, dehydrated apples, apple cider vinegar, apple pie filling, apple jelly, apple scrap jelly, making homemade natural pectin, fermented apples, apple juice/cider, hard cider and freezing are a few ways people go about puttin’ up apples for the year.

Applesauce is an important “MUST HAVE” in our house. We often have it with dinner. We will put it in a pot on the stove to warm up while we eat and have it for dessert! The kids claim that I make the best applesauce in the world. It’s certainly the best they have ever had. It is definitely an up grade from store bought!

I remember a story my great grandmother would tell about how much she hated peeling and coring all of my great grandfathers apples from his trees to preserve. I was determined to NOT hate it. The first thing I looked up when I went to make applesauce the first time was whether or not I could make it without peeling. Well, good news folks! You can. I wonder what my great grandmother would say to how easy my applesauce processing is compared to what she used to do. 

I won’t get into all the specifics of safe canning procedures in this post. I will at another time write a detailed post concerning how to can safely and will later create a link from this post. Until then, if you are a beginner and unfamiliar with canning, I encourage you to reach out to your local extension office for instruction or other trusted source. 

So you have your pile of apples. Now what!?

Supplies Needed

Canning pot and canning accessories 

Steamer

Lids and rings

Canning jars (pint or quart)

Lemon juice (optional)

Cinnamon 

Ginger

Sugar (Only if you want. It’s not necessary to add sugar so feel free not to)

Apples (I used Gala apples)
(You will need about 21 pounds of apples for 7 quarts of applesauce, 13.5 pounds for 9 pints.)

Instructions 

Before you get busy cutting up these apples, you have to get them all washed up! 

Now remember, I said NO PEELING! 

Just core your apples and chop them in pretty big chunks. 

Fill up your steamer basket with apples and steam them for approx. 20 min. 

If it is easily pierced with a fork, you’re good to go.

Now you want to take the apples and put them in a good blender (oh how I love my Vitamix! We’ve had ours for over 15 years and use it almost every day for one thing or another)

Blend in some cinnamon and some ginger to taste (don’t overdo the ginger) Be careful when blending hot apple chunks.

Add a little lemon juice (lemon juice isn’t necessary when canning apples but I enjoy it in there)

Sugar, if you want but really apples are sweet enough!

After its blended well, pour into a big pot.
If you have a smaller steamer, you may have to do a few batches steamed, blend in batches,  and add them all together to a big pot as you go until you have the amount of applesauce desired to fill your jars.

At this point you will want to bring your applesauce to a boil in your big pot. 

Turn it down some and simmer it for 20 min.
Don’t skip this step. When you blend your apples, there will be a lot of air in the applesauce. If you don’t let that simmer out, you will end up with siphoning in the canning process (ask me how I know). As it is, applesauce has a reputation for siphoning so anything I can do to minimize that is worth it to me.

After simmering for 20 min, you can get to the canning process.

Water-bath Canning (As mentioned before, in this post I will not get into the specifics of safe canning procedures. Please refer to your local extension office or trusted source for guidance.) 

Ladle your applesauce into your sterilized jars, leaving 1/2 in. headspace.

Tap the jar on a potholder or towel a few good times to get air out of the applesauce. 

Wipe your rims and finger tighten your lid/ring.

Fill your canning pot with jars and process for 15 min for pints and 20 min for quarts. 

Carefully remove your jars and allow them to completely cool. 

Check for a good seal once cooled. 

I always store my home canned goods without the rings but you’re going to hear a ton of different answers depending on who you ask.  That is a topic for another post. 

Happy Homesteading!

What to do with that Abundance of Fall Peppers!

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One of the shining stars of fall is the pepper. They love the heat and have a hard time in early spring getting going. They do start to shine in summer but there is something special that happens in the fall for peppers. They explode with fruit! Our jalapeño plants are DRIPPING with peppers!  Actually to be more factual, my uncle’s pepper plants are, not mine haha. He plants several jalapeño plants along with some flowers in his one and only little edible garden. He grows them for my aunt who could NEVER eat as many as they produce. He doesn’t even LIKE spicy things. That’s love I tell ya.

I stick to growing other varieties of peppers and just walk next door to pick as many peppers as I can haul back home. That’s the wonderful thing about gardening friends. Someone is bound to have a better crop of something than you and sharing is the best!
So what in the world do we do with all these peppers? Other than giving away many to friends and stuffing our selves with jalapeño poppers and salsa, we have discovered some delicious and creative ways to use up and preserve this abundance:

***Word of caution! When handling hot peppers, it’s not a bad idea to use gloves. The oils in peppers are difficult to completely wash away and you don’t want to make the mistake of rubbing your eyes after processing a bucket of hot peppers!

-“Cowboy Candy.” It’s candied. Sweet and Spicy! It’s so delicious on a sandwich, a salad, a baked potato, tacos, or just standing at the fridge scooping them out with a fork! Don’t toss out that extra brine! It can be used to make a glaze or a marinade for meat, add to a Bloody Mary, etc.

-Pickled Peppers Water bath canning them is the way to go and super easy to do

-Canned Salsa. Better make sure you get this done before all those tomatoes disappear for the year!

-Dehydrated Either in a dehydrator, oven dried, or air dried. Store in a mason jar with tight fitting lid. We use the dehydrator and set it on the back porch. Otherwise it runs the kids out of the house coughing haha!

-Powdered. Once you have your dehydrated peppers, you can pulverize them into powder to use as a seasoning.

-Freeze. Cut into slices and freeze. You can remove the seeds or leave them. Remember, if you’re freezing hot peppers, the seeds and the membranes will make it spicer. Add the frozen jalapeños to various dishes throughout the year. Freeze in small batches. 

-Frozen for Jalapeno poppers. Pick the biggest of the peppers to cut in half length ways, scoop out seeds, and freeze to whip up some quick jalapeño poppers later. 

-Hot Pepper Jelly. This is nice on a cracker with some cream cheese.

-Hot Pepper/Fruit Jelly. There are also recipes out there that add fruit such as peaches or figs to the hot pepper jelly. I haven’t tried one yet but it sounds delicious and is on the list! 

-Hot Sauce. There are tons of hot sauce recipes using so many kinds of peppers and some have various fruits added. I will recommend that the spicer the pepper, the more careful handling you should pay attention to. Trying to do preparations outside is also helpful to disperse some of the capsaicin molecules in the air. 

-Fermented. Fermenting sounds scary at first but I promise you is just a few simple steps to preserving your harvest and providing amazing probiotics in this delicious LIVING FOOD! 

Now if you would excuse me, I have about a 5 gal bucket full of jalapeños that need my attention! Preserving is hard work but I never said it wasn’t worth it!
So get to preserving and …

Happy Homesteading!

Leather Britches

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In the fall, just before it starts getting really cold, those green beans tend to go nuts one last time. They had a great run in the heat of summer then they putter out for a while but they like to go out with a bang at the end. When I plan it right, I have tons of beans in the fall. And truth be told, this year isn’t actually that year. I do have them steadily rolling in but it’s definitely shy of being a bumper crop.

My family loves green beans and we grow a few different varieties. I ALWAYS grow Purple Podded Pole Beans (try saying that fast a few times) and this year we also grew Thai Soldier Beans. This year the Thai Soldier Beans was more of an after thought. I just squeezed a few into a spot I had available. They really ran with that spot and are producing more than I thought I’d get.

In addition to canning green beans and freezing green beans and fermenting green beans,  I like to DEHYDRATE green beans! They take up less space that way and are lighter, easier to store and I don’t have to worry about losing them in the freezer if the power were to go out. I have a run-of-the-mill dehydrator that I use regularly in the summer to dehydrate all kinds of things. And yes, I do have a fancy 9 tray Excalibur dehydrator siting in my wish list… one day… But sometimes you gotta go back to the “good ole days.” Long before modern day canning was a “thing” (which really didn’t take off until the late 1800s early 1900s) people dehydrated and fermented a lot of their food. Dehydration doesn’t have to require fancy machines. In fact, they don’t need much at all!

Have you heard the term Leather Britches? It’s the Appalachian method of air drying your garden beans. You simply use a needle and thread to string them similar to stringing popcorn garland.

How to make Leather Britches 

What you will need:

Sturdy string or unwaxed dentil floss pieces cut to 2 or 3 foot 

Large sewing needle 

And a whole pile of green beens

Steps:

-Wash up those beans and dry them on a towel. (Can I just take a moment to tell you guys how much I’m loving the Turkish towels?! Seriously they are amazing!)

-Pick out any with bug nibbles or bad spots.

-Snap the ends of the beans (specifically the blossom end but I always snap both ends). 

-Remove any strings from the beans.

-Break the beans either in half or, if you have a long bean variety, break into pieces about 2-3 inches long. I often have help from little ones in my house and they don’t always end up in the uniform sizes I would do if I was doing it by myself but it’s important to let them help. So I will cherish the too big and too small pieces for now. 

Now for the fun part! The stringin’

-Thread your needle and tie a knot at the end of the thread. (If you’re concerned that your thread might not be strong enough, double the thread over)

-String that first bean on and wrap it and tie it off well. You want to make sure that the whole string of beans stays on the thread and doesn’t slip off.

-Now you just get to stringing! 

-Once you’ve gotten all the beans that you can fit on a thread, leave room to tie it off. I make a loop so that I can hang it.

The goal is to have one string contain about the amount you would want to use for one meal. If you have a large family, you’ll need multiple strings for sure.
To hang these, you will want them in a dark dry place and don’t squeeze them together. You want air flow around the beans or they will mold. A closet or a pantry works fine. It takes a few weeks or so to dry out and can last a year or so dried.

Cook em up!

Now that you’ve got your leather britches strung and dried, how do you prepare them?

Pull them off the string and soak them overnight. The next day you will cook them for several hours low and slow, traditionally with pork (ham hock, fat back, whatever you want) You also can skip that and do in a veggie stock if you want a vegetarian option. The best part is, they don’t get mushy like green beans can get from over cooking. They maintain a nice chewy texture. 

These beans go by the name Leather Britches but also have been called Shucky beans depending on where you come from. Either way, they are delicious and easy so we are going to continue to add them to our food storage.

Get out to that garden, grab those beens, and get to stringin!

Happy Homesteading!