Dilly Beans

The mountain of beans has been tamed...for the time being. I owe the red pepper heart idea to my friend Suzy in Bellingham, Washington. She is full of inspiration, and usually takes projects to the highest possible heights with extreme artistic devotion, charming everything she touches.
The garden is requiring regular harvests which then require a place to put them. The fridge is chaos. Supper generally includes zucchini three ways, beans three ways, cucumber three ways and maybe a poached egg. It's impossible to eat it all.
So an entire afternoon was reluctantly devoted to canning. Honestly, this method of putting-by is a mixed bag for me. I enjoy an aspect of it, but canning requires following stringent instructions (so you don't unintentionally gift your loved ones botulism over the Holidays), and the humid nature of the project isn't always fun. Gladly we are in a bit of a cool snap, and yesterday turned out to be the perfect day for leaning over a massive pot of boiling water and hot brine.
This is the time in the season for pushing ahead and getting things dealt with as best possible, despite being a little worn out, and possibly a bit uncomfortable throughout the process. There is still a large scoop of satisfaction in it all, and of course---little red pepper shapes to remind us to keep a grateful heart.


For Dilly Bean recipe, I referred to the National Center for Home Processing, and only added dill seed to the brine. Please note to carefully follow an official recipe without altering ingredients to maintain a safe pH.