We grow a lot of beans in the garden – mostly green beans. Last year, I decided to try to grow some dry beans. You just grow them – and don’t pick them! During all of those hot summer days  when I was busy picking fresh green beans and freezing them on a daily basis, I would look at those “other” beans and think – wow – this is so great! I don’t even have to pick them. They can just keep growing and dry up. How easy is that!

Until it wasn’t. All of a sudden they did dry up – and there were a LOT of them. Black and white Calypso beans, red Kidney beans, red and white Christmas beans, Black Valentine beans, purple-ish Cherokee Trail of Tears beans and dried Navy beans. But, they still needed to be picked (at least all at one time), set to dry a little more on a shelf in the greenhouse, and then shelled.

And now, it’s a cold, dreary February day with snow flurries and there is nothing better than our dried Kidney beans, frozen diced peppers and canned tomatoes – all from the summer garden – to make an awesome chili for Super Bowl Sunday!