The Mob...

Day 1

I anticipated writing about my farm mob experience last night when I arrived back home. I guess I should have realized I would possibly need a day to recover! It wasn't just recovering physically. Yes, I did need some physical recovery time ;)...but, I needed some time to process the experience. This included assimilating all the new and fascinating information I heard, coming down a bit from being in such magnificent beauty and replaying all the profound and meaningful conversation I was involved in with friends old and new. I even needed to go through a short mourning period of realizing it will be a little while before I eat the delectable food served at Hell's Backbone Grill...

Friday morning arrived all bright and shiny and warm. Hubs packed up the car with a cooler filled with water, iced coffee and several beverages. He had already loaded my tent, backpacking air mattress and a sleeping bag. I don't honestly think the sleeping bag had been used in more than a half dozen years. I added my pillow and backpack to the car and off we went. Hubs had agreed to drive me to my mob mates place and help me load all this gear into her perfectly outfitted truck.

I was kind of bummed that Hubs couldn't make it this trip, but the farm gods were smiling upon me and hooked me up with my 2nd choice! Amazing and competent camper Hilary was willing and able to go! There are so many reasons this was awesome. The BIG one for me was that Hilary was schooled in the art of tent set-up! ( Of course I'm kind of kidding...Hilary's talents go way beyond this!)

We left the big city and headed out on the I-15...After a couple of hours we made a turn off and landed on a scenic byway. One of the reasons this is such a great destination is because of the unbelievable and ever changing scenery. All total it takes about 5 hours to get to the farm. Taking this amazing route goes quickly and fills you with a sense of unparalleled beauty and gratefulness for the planet we live on.

I especially enjoyed all the photo ops and sharing Hilary's excitement of hopping out of the truck and running to take a picture! Big sky and mountains, pine trees and aspen, a herd of buffalo big and small.
Red rock and Mars landscaping and white rock and lunaresque (maybe not a word, but you get the idea!) formations...bliss...

After driving down a winding gravel road surrounded by rock configurations, mountains and pastures filled with horses and llamas and bulls and cows we arrived at the farm.

I mean seriously...can you believe this place??? It really does exist and if you don't think so, you can go visit it yourself!

Yes people! It really is this outrageous! (Hilary shared these pics with me. She is a better photog than I am)...

We wanted to get to the farm and set-up my campsite before dark...um, and before DINNER!

OMG...look at these guys! We encountered them on the road to our campsite. They were total newbies! Just being weened from milk bottles. They got to wander around the farm the next day quite a bit. They were a total hit! Everybody was in love with them. Can't lie...I'm in love with goats. Why? I have no idea! I just can't get them out of my head!

The camping area is on a hillside of sand and junipers and sage brush...(there were some ants, too)
This is my tent. I really did as I was instructed by Hilary. Pretty much just stand back and let her get it done! ;) I was pretty excited thinking about sleeping in it...all by myself...on the hill...with no one around...I think I was excited...

After it was all ready, we freshened up and headed back out of the farm and to the restaurant. We were meeting others that were participating in the mob. We weren't sure quite what to expect other than the ridiculous meal we knew we would be getting! Farm to table! Us and the food!

They were expecting around 15 people for dinner. We walked in and were warmly and sincerely greeted by the owner and visionary of this amazing restaurant and farm. She was amicably chatting with a husband and wife and their 17 year old son. (Also there for the farm mob). When word was given that the others were running late and may not be able to attend dinner, we were seated at a dining table. Thus began an evening of culinary delights, new friends, stimulating conversation and FUN! Seriously...a feast for the body and the mind.

A light refreshing quinoa salad with fresh farm goodies...fruits and nuts and recently picked broccoli! (Didn't know it then, but weeding the broccoli patch was in our future!) Yes, you can tell it's awesome from the picture. I'm sorry you can't taste and smell this. I'm sorry you weren't there to ooh and aah over this like we all did. No, I wasn't the only one taking pictures of my food...

We were offered our choice of two outstanding entrees. Hilary suggested we get one of each and share. No arm twisting necessary!

This was a vegetarian option. Stuffed squash. I have to be honest. I'm not even sure at this point what it was stuffed with. I do know it was excellent. It's pretty to look at as well!

Some sort of beef brisket on top of a silky polenta with fresh picked beans. I can honestly say it was the best polenta I've ever eaten. It was smooth and creamy and buttery and melty in your mouth. I wish I could tell you what exactly was in all the dishes we consumed. My senses were just completely in overload. I was savoring every bite and trying to make a memory of it in my head and at the same time trying to hear every wonderful word being spoken at the table!

Yeah, if that wasn't enough, we were served warm bread pudding with dried cherries and fruits and nuts and a buttery sugary component at the bottom of the bowl. It was topped with freshly whipped sweet cream and dainty bachelor button petals.

It was almost too much. Almost. A rare feast for the senses. The sight, the taste, the smell.  And, the brain. Memories were made and friends were made. A sense of community and like mindedness enveloped me. People from different parts and backgrounds and circumstance. People drawn together by a desire for real food, good health, knowledge, hard work, friendship and a sense of belonging. I found it here, this night, at this table...

tidbit...polenta and quinoa aren't recognized by spellcheck. Lame...get it together spellcheck!

For more information about this amazing farm and restaurant...

http://hellsbackbonegrill.com/

Farm Mob...

Farm Mob!? Have you heard the term before? I have just recently been introduced to it. I thought maybe I was a bit behind the times. I went to do a Google search and/or find a dictionary definition. I wanted to post something official here. Something that would help explain it better than I would.
Maybe I'm not as behind the times as I thought. I couldn't find a meaning or a definition for it. I did find a "crop mob" which seems to be about the same thing. Although, there was not much info regarding a crop mob either!
So...I will do my best. A farm mob happens when a local farmer puts out a call for volunteer help. It might be in the spring when they need some extra help planting their veggies and fruits. It may be when they have a big harvest coming up. The local farmer is really wanting to be successful and provide his wonderful bounty to his community. The local farm mobbers really want the farmer to be successful so they can enjoy his wonderful bounty!
Locally we have a few organizations that help these small growers. They put out the word via Facebook or emails to interested parties. One of the organic farmers in a nearby city needed the springtime help. Another recently harvested a field of fragrant and marvelous garlic. Usually the farmer will provide lunch or recommend a potluck meal for the volunteers.
I have considered doing one of these farm mobs but never got around to it. Until...now!
Tomorrow I am leaving to go help at an incredible farm about 5 hours from my home. I visited this farm this summer on a short weekend trip with Hubs. This amazing little farm is a "no-harm" organic farm. This little farm supplies the ingredients for an amazing restaurant. Between the farm and the restaurant it employees and feeds most of this tiny town. The farm sits on about six acres of land in a pristine and surreal setting.
I'm not sure what farm work we will be doing at this point. I'm kind of hoping there will be some weeding involved. I love to sit in the dirt and weed around thriving, growing plants and flowers. The farm is completely hand weeded as it fits with their principles of "no-harm". Whatever job I am given I am feeling grateful for the opportunity. I am excited to learn more about organic farming and see the methods they are successfully using.
Whereas many of the above mentioned mobs have included a tasty farm lunch, this weekend we will be provided with six squares! I can't lie...I'm also going for the food!!! Hubs and I ate at the restaurant when we visited and it's been calling to me ever since. This kind of food really does feed your body as well as your soul. I feel it when I eat it and savor each lovingly grown bite.
It's true...I will work for food! And, I can't wait...
I will also be camping out at this farm and won't have phone, wifi or Internet service. I will be sleeping in a tent and dipping in a pond...and dreaming of the next beautiful thing they will feed us.

And, in another town there is a little girl who likes to go to her urban garden plot and pull up carrots with her daddy...

( The Sprout and her Daddy were feeling a bit under the weather...pretty sure a good homegrown carrot cures just about everything!)

Come Walk With Me...

The "food movement" makes me happy and it makes me optimistic. It makes me feel like grassroots movements really can make a difference. It makes me think someday the big offenders in the food industry will really have to change. I often think that our government will really do something about the conditions in factory farms and eventually label GMO's...someday.
I have seen many movies and read many stories of change actually happening. I've watched several documentaries filmed in inner cities where the neighbors can't get fresh or quality food and they start their own community gardens.
I've seen the surge and growth of community gardens all around my own state. I see more and more people pulling up to the local farm stands and fresh fruit sellers along the highway. I feel hopeful...
I've noticed people aren't just talking about change anymore. They are changing! They want a better quality of life and better food and a promising future for their families. They want food that actually tastes good and nourishes their bodies. They want REAL food and they want to know where it comes from!
I decided to take my camera along on my nightly walk. I am seriously amazed at what is happening in my neck of the woods. This is recent change and ongoing change. I see it everywhere now and yes, it makes me hopeful.

Notice the simple and sweet little chicken coop just left of the storage shed. That just popped up this summer :)   (Sorry, I'm kind of far away. I wasn't sure if I should actually snoop through somebodies yard to snap a picture!)

This blue beauty is in its second season! The hens are all thriving and happy. I know because I walk past this one a lot! The chicken keeper keeps adding little extra walkways and such for his girls.

These guys really have it going on! They have a pretty extraordinary coop and I'm super jealous of their 

weather vane! (Can you see it? The awesome rooster atop the coop!)  They have a nice, tidy little garden and it's fenced off to keep the chickens from helping themselves. Ok, I also have to admit I'm really coveting something else they have...a GOAT! I like their goat and honestly, he seems to like me! When the sprouts visit we head over to see that goat and we feed him weeds and stuff through the fence. He often entertains us by jumping around all goofy. The sprouts think he's pretty cool.

Again, I want to get brave enough to just march myself on up close to these chicken coops...um...probably not going to happen, though!  This one is really big and nice, too. It's hard to see looking through the swing set!

And, it's not just the chicken coops. It's the charming little gardens as well. It's satisfying and addicting to dig in the dirt and make amazing things grow.

Love! Their own little piece of heaven. Tidy and thriving and feeding their family. I am a huge fan of container gardening and especially square foot gardening. (more on that later!)

Another home, another flourishing patch of happiness. Looks like their corn is right on target.
You know...knee high by July!

I was loving this masterpiece...I got all giddy seeing that delightful blue wheelbarrow all tucked in. I would imagine they are getting quite the nice harvest...

I didn't see these things four years ago. It wasn't just that I didn't notice. It's because they weren't there. People want good things. They want good health. They want to know what they are eating and where it comes from. I see it...

My nightly walk serves more than a physical purpose. It warms my heart and makes me feel good. It makes me hopeful...

Just Peachy!...

Well...I had a completely different topic in mind for today, but then I made this really delectable dessert and I decided I needed to share it instead!
I think I've mentioned a couple times about my love of keeping it simple! For me, simple means successful.
After we completely annihilated the peaches we got last Friday in our CSA I decided to go pick up a few more at the farm stand today. I was planning to dice them up and "whip" up some whipped cream.
Then, I was trying to think up something I could crumble on top or a wafer or cracker that would be a good compliment to the peaches and cream. For a brief moment I completely lost my mind and considered going and purchasing a pack of shortbread or the like...ACKKKK...see, it's still a learning curve. Sometimes my brain reverts to its old habits :(
Thankfully I came to my senses. I just needed to make a short cake type biscuit.
A couple of weeks ago the family got together for dinner. The kiddies had been to the big farmers market in the big city that day and brought back the most enticing array of mixed local berries. It was all kind of impromptu and my daughter suggested I bring some cream for whipping. She also asked if I'd stop by Whole Foods and pick up their version of short cake biscuits. She had tried them before with berries and thought they were pretty decent. Meh...they were average...;) The berries and whipped cream were delish, though!
So, I went in search of a sweet biscuit type recipe. I ended up making up my own because there was something I didn't like in almost every recipe I read. I don't have buttermilk on hand. I don't have sour cream in the fridge. I like to use eggs in stuff I bake. (hmmm...image that!) I want to use what I have on hand. And so...

This is what I came up with. Super easy, super fast. No, I'm serious...it took no time at all!

2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of cold butter
1 egg well beaten
1 cup milk

I whisked together all the dry ingredients. Then I did the coolest thing. I got out my cheese grater and got my butter out of the fridge. Instead of cutting up the cold butter and using a hand held pastry blender, I used the grater! I did it right over the bowl of dry ingredients and then gently blended it through the bowl with my fingers. I added the beaten egg and milk and stirred just until incorporated. Don't over mix.
Then I dropped it by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. You do have parchment paper, right? Parchment paper is life changing. Do you also have a Silpat? I hope so. If you don't, it's not too late. You really need to have a Silpat and parchment paper in you kitchen! Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown.

I have to say I was very pleased with the end product here. They are light and fluffy. They are barely sweet and not bitter. Sometimes I find biscuits a tad on the bitter side. <ahem>( the ones from Whole Foods)...(for the record I usually like their in house baked goods!) The other thing I really liked?! They sliced very easily and didn't get all crumbly.

While they were baking I did dice up the juicy, incredibly ripe sweet peaches. I drizzled a bit of local honey, gently stirred and put them in the fridge.

After dinner (which by the way was really great, too) we went for a nice long (hot) walk. As soon as we got home, Hubs started bugging me about dessert. Okay, I couldn't wait either!...I put my aluminum mixing bowl and beater in the freezer to get nice and cold. I sliced 3 biscuits in half. Yes, I totally indulged and had 3 layers of biscuit. I got the very cold utensils out of the freezer, added 1 cup of whipping cream, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and a tablespoon of simple syrup. (You can make simple syrup...it's simple!)

After it was all nice and fluffy I layered the biscuits, cream and peaches.

BOOM! Seriously people...this outrageous dessert took maybe 30 minutes total and that included the baking time! In case you are wondering...it was as good as it looks!

TIP: It's okay to have some whipping cream in your fridge. Just USE it. Not only can you make the fabulous whipped cream, but whipped cream and milk and sugar is all it takes to make ice cream. With all the delectable berries and fruit around, you really need it!

It's A Girl!...

and a girl and a girl and a girl! (crossing our fingers, anyway!)

Yesterday we went shopping for some chickens for that empty, adorable little chicken coop! It is getting easier and easier to find little chickens year round! It used to be kind of a springtime thing...now, there seems to be much more demand. I personally think this is GREAT.
I still have to learn a lot about chickens, but, one thing I've learned is that you hope they are all hens and sometimes they aren't :(
The store we visited was a farm type store. They had a surprising selection of little chicks. They had Barred Rock (sometimes called Plymouth Rock), Rhode Island Red, Golden Sex Link, Banty hens, and Cornish. I wasn't familiar with the Cornish so I quickly researched it on trusty Goggle! It seems that Cornish are good mothers and can get broody. 3 years ago I had no clue what that meant. Now I know and I know I don't want broody hens! If you want to "breed" chickens and keep roosters then you would probably like the Cornish variety.
Our favorite breed so far has been the New Hampshire Red. They are big and mellow and hearty and they lay lots of eggs. They are not broody! We have one chicken of undetermined heritage that occasionally gets broody. It's not pleasant. A broody hen will lay an egg and not move. They will continue this pattern until they are sitting on several eggs! They won't let the other hens into the egg box to lay their eggs. They hiss and squawk if you get close to them or try and collect an egg. They can actually do this for days and it's possible that they can starve or dehydrate themselves for their unwillingness to leave those darn eggs! Now, you could see this as a good thing if you actually want to get baby chickens. At the time our chicken went into her broody phase we were not in possession of a rooster. So, she could sit on those eggs until the cows came home and there will never be any baby chicks for all her commitment!
From my understanding, the only guarantee you will not end up with a rooster is if you get a Sex Link. There are black or golden Sex Links. I guess all Sex Link chickens that are black or gold are female. So far it has proven true with our experience. That is the extent of my knowledge on the biology of the Sex Links.

This Sprout is getting the new chickens today. For some reason she was much more enamored with the baby ducks. I totally get it...baby ducks really are adorable!

This is what was finally decided on for the Sprout and her parents. Two Golden Sex Links and two Barred Rock. At least we know the Sex Links are female!

I LOVE the way the Barred Rock look. Much to my sadness, we have not been successful at keeping a Barred Rock in our flock. Yet!

Okay, check out this gorgeous Barred Rock we had for a bit. They are all checkerboardy and amazing looking. You know why this Barred Rock was especially lovely? Yep, that's right! It turned out to be a rooster! We ended up naming him "Transformer". We tried to keep Transformer for awhile and give it a shot at having a rooster. Nope...not cool. Those 2, 3 and 4 a.m. wake-up calls make the neighbors really unsupportive of your chicken rearing! Don't worry...Transformer found a good home on a farm in the country...! (really!)
We had another hen that turned out to be a rooster as well. Oh my...what we thought was a hen just kept getting bigger and more beautiful daily. Lovely blue/black feathery plumes flowing from the tail section. Hello...can you say rooster? We were bummed. We also tried to make it work with handsome "Crowbar"...but to no avail. His crowing and <ahem> aggressiveness with the girls was just too much for us urban farmers...Crowbar also found a good home in the country.

The newbies made it home to their new abode all safe and sound. I hear the Sprout sat out by the coop and chatted with them for about an hour. Sitting in her car seat she reassured them on the drive home and keep telling them "it's okay"!

And, so it begins...another little urban farm and another little sprout that knows where her eggs come from!

No...this isn't my license plate. Some other lucky person got it first!!!

Another Day, Another CSA...

Yay for Fridays! Like I said before...I never get tired of picking up our CSA bag and snooping through it to find all the wonderful goodies.

I figured you'd want to snoop through it as well! Today we got 3 cucumbers. We will be snarfing those up raw this weekend! There is a nice bag of ripe and ready red tomatoes, 3 summer squash, a bowl of peaches and a big ole bunch of kale! The peaches will be gone by morning. Now, kale is all the rage these days. You know that, right? It's famous for juicing and all it's amazing health benefits. It's a funny veggie. It is kind of a weird texture and acquired taste. I have tried a few different kale chip recipes. I haven't loved one well enough to share with you. I do like chopping it up coarsely and adding to my "light broth summer soups". My daughter brought a kale salad to one of our shindigs and that recipe is worth sharing. Everyone loved it! That's saying a lot when it comes to kale.

Superior Kale Salad
1 cup crusty French bread torn into pieces
1 large bunch kale (stems removed and chopped into pieces)
2 TBSP lemon juice
1/4 cup + 1TBSP olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Chop bread in a food processor until crumbly. Heat 1 TBSP olive oil in a small pan and saute crumbs
until lightly browned. Remove from heat. In small bowl whisk well the lemon juice and olive oil. In a large bowl toss kale, dressing, bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Fresh black pepper is a nice finish.

Not only was today the exciting CSA day, but...I got a nice surprise from the FEDEX guy. I have been having a dilemma. I have to drive to 2 or 3 destinations to get my groceries. This summer the heat has been pretty crazy and I have wondered how to keep my perishables safe on my drive. I have gone without meat and cheeses several times because I didn't think it would survive the temps. I like picking up yummy local cheeses at the farmers market but then have to go to the grocery store for butter and fish and meat. The town I happen to live in hasn't quite embraced the food movement and clean eating yet. This means I have to drive to a larger town about 20 miles away to get what I need.
I was randomly surfing the web the other day and came across a solution!

I got pretty excited when I saw this "get up". It fits in the trunk of a car and has 3 compartments. Then, it also comes with the insulated cooler bag. The cooler bag is portable but fits inside the middle compartment. Ohhhhh...I thought this might just be the answer. I hurried and ordered it. It said it wouldn't arrive until next week sometime and then BOOM, it showed up today as I was on my way to go shopping!

I think I'm in love with it! There is still plenty of room for grocery bags and I liked being able to stuff my reusable bags inside it on the way to the market.

I was really happy because I desperately needed butter and Greek yogurt this week and I haven't purchased meat or fish for several weeks because of the heat issue. Wild caught Coho salmon was on sale today for a really good price and I also wanted a few chicken breasts. I hadn't had time to freeze one of those blue ice things yet, so I asked the butcher if he could give me a small bag of ice to throw in the cooler. So glad I asked! Even better, he said they are now "recycling" the ice packs they get with their shipments and I was welcome to take a couple. I loved that! Wow...is it weird how excited this made me feel?

That's my salmon on top! Dinner tomorrow night with a kale salad and fresh cukes.

I think this is a pretty sweet set-up...

Oh, and speaking of kale...one of our adorable sprouts wearing her "eat more kale" shirt at the "March Against Monsanto" a couple months ago...she's cool.

Keep It Simple Smarty!

When you completely change something about your lifestyle it can really turn your world upside down. For a bit anyway!  I was totally committed to this new way of eating and needed a starting point. See, that's it...You need a starting point for the journey, but keep in mind it IS a journey.
I started by getting serious about reading labels. I was going to go with the "just a few ingredients" rule and the ingredients had to be something I could pronounce. Well...the problem with this is you quickly find out there is nothing you can really eat.
I am glad I had done so much research and reading about high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils and the biggest GMO offenders. I wasn't sure what I could eat, but I knew for sure what I didn't want to eat.
One day I completely went through all my cupboards and threw away all the processed food. I also threw away all my ancient and never used spices, bleached flour, beet sugar remnants, corn oils and shortening...It felt amazing :)
I had a daunting realization that I needed to find a way to source clean, healthy and tasty food. After much trial and error I found the easiest thing for me to do was shop at a store that doesn't have any products with HFCS. That was at the top of my list of "I don't want to eat that"! I also wanted to buy meat that did not have hormones, antibiotics and nitrates. Luckily such grocery stores now exist!
I also realized that all the research and reading in the world would not solve my addiction to sugar and that would be my biggest hurdle. This is still something I haven't quite come to terms with.
My compromise on the sugar thing is this...If I want cake, I make the cake. If I want cookies, I make the cookies. If I want ice cream, I make the ice cream...quality ingredients, unbleached flours, real butter or coconut oil, cane sugar...see...no biggy! I now have my cupboards stocked with these items and fresh organic spices and I actually USE them...
I think one of the hardest things about eating the right way is learning how to manage your time. I can now whip up delicious, healthy, clean meals in about the amount of time it would take to get to the fast food drive-thru. To accomplish this, you have to have ingredients in your house!
I have also learned...keep it simple! Complicated recipes with lots of ingredients will work great on occasion, but for real life you need to keep it simple.
These are things I always try to have on hand:
Onions
Garlic
Organic veggie broth
Pecans
Dried cranberries
Peanut butter
Quality loaf of locally made bread
Wild caught albacore canned tuna
A variety of canned beans or dried beans
Bottled tomatoes
A variety of quality local cheeses
Organic oatmeal
Butter
Olive oil
The above mentioned pantry items
Eggs...:) Thanks girls...
Summer is by far the easiest for me to source the food we love and want to eat. Between the grass-fed local beef in our freezer, our CSA and local fruit stands and farmers markets I can put together some pretty rockin' meals!

Last week in our CSA bag we were treated with an amazing variety of goodies.
Corn on the cob
Green onions
Green beans
Carrots
Summer squash
Cantaloupe (maybe one of the best I've ever eaten!)
A huge green cabbage

Our cute neighbor Adam has a pretty spectacular garden growing this year as well. He is handing us all kinds of goodies over the fence! We are well stocked up on his onions and garlic and he is growing these crispy, crunchy cucumbers we can't get enough of! Thanks Adam!

So, for example I whipped up what I call one of my "summer soups". Yeah, I know it's been outrageously hot, but these veggie laden and light broth soups are really great and don't over heat us!
I did have to make a quick stop at the local grocery for some in-store made polish sausage.

I pulled out my trusty Le Creuset soup pot. ( We need to chat about Le Creuset sometime!) I added some olive oil and a tiny bit of butter. Then I grilled up the sausage nicely until it was brown and crisp on the outside. I removed it from the pot and added a tad more butter. Then threw in some chopped onion and minced garlic (thanks Adam) and sauteed for about 6 minutes. Then I added:
4 cups of organic veggie broth
4 cups of our lovely shredded cabbage
2 shredded carrots
2 cups of tri-colored fingerling potatoes (lets chat about fingerling potatoes sometime, too!)
The cut up Polish sausage
Salt and Pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste
I simmered it on the stove for a few hours...
Super simple!!! Right? And, super delish!
We just ladled it up in bowls and served it with a couple chunky pieces of "honey sunflower oat" bread and my refreshing hibiscus tea!
We have enough leftovers for tomorrow, too!

Adam's onions!

The simmering pot of soup. (I admit, the color in this photo isn't the greatest and cooked cabbage doesn't come across all that dazzling in pictures...but, I assure you it was fabulous!)

I also happened to whip up 2 pint bottles of dilly beans with some of the green beans. I had leftover pickling solution in my fridge from the spicy carrots.
I added to the sterilized pint jars:
1 garlic clove
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. of dill weed
1/2 tsp. of dill seed
cut and trimmed green beans

I poured the hot pickling solution over the beans and processed them. It was only 2 small jars but we had plenty of green beans and it only took a few minutes. We will love them next winter and as always I feel a huge sense of satisfaction when I can add to my pantry shelves!

Booyah...dilly beans!