Today's Harvest (and pickles!)

The pole bean vines that I planted this year in my first Earth Box -- only 3 of them! - took over the trellis and then started to crowd out the peas that were growing in the container next to them. This is the third harvest of this size that I've gotten from them and it looks like there is definitely at least one more harvest coming.

About 20 years ago I had Bloody Marys on the veranda at The Columns Hotel on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. The cocktails featured an unusual crudite -- a pickled green bean. (Funny I don't remember anything else about that happy hour.) I've never made pickles before but I adapted a basic recipe from the internet and managed to produce something remarkably similar. Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

String beans, snap peas, snow peas or whatever you want to pickle

2 cups white vinegar

2 cups water

2 tbsp whole grain mustard

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1/2 c. fresh dill, roughly chopped

salt to taste

Trim the beans and peas. Bring the water and vinegar to a boil, then add the mustard, garlic and dill. Stir well. When boiling, add the beans and/or peas. Allow to cook for approx. 1 minute. Remove from heat. Salt to taste. (I didn't do the sterilized jar thing, but if you do, you would put it in the jar now.) When room temperature, put the entire mixture in an airtight plastic container in the fridge. Nibble (or stir cocktails) at will.

I promise they taste better than they look :-p