Dilly Beans!

This past weekend, the girls and I made some of our family's infamous Dilly Beans! 

 

 We made the trek to our local fruit market to purchase our ingredients fresh.  My mom and I used to make this same trek years ago.  I can remember packing jars with my mom as a little girl.  Then came the eternally long wait for them to be ready to eat! 

 

Kiddos would pop in and out of the kitchen and say, "When can we eat those?"  To which I replied, just as my mom would reply to me, "Oh...around Christmas!"

 

Here are some pictures of the process:

 

 {Ken snapped a picture of us girls working...}

 

 

 

This is a copy of the original recipe in my own mother's handwriting.  Of course it would be so much more organized to have this in my computer, but I don't want to lose the heritage and memories that come with each scribble and scroll. {The "boxing" around the title is exactly how my mom always delineates her recipes!}

 

Just in case you want to make some of your own:

 

Dilly Beans

{makes 4 quart jars}

 

2lbs green beans

1tsp. cayenne pepper (or 1-2 red "hot peppers")

4 cloves garlic

4 dill heads

1/4 cup salt

2 1/2 cups water

2 1/2 cups vinegar

 

Remove tips from beans and wash thoroughly.  Pack clean canning jars with beans lengthwise.  Add pepper, 1 clove garlic, and 1 dill head. 

 

Combine water, vinegar, and salt and boil until salt is dissolved.

 

Pour into jars with 1/4" of headroom.  Add lids and rings.  Hot water bathe the jars for 4 minutes.  Remove from water and let cool.  Lids with "pop" as they seal.

 

Wait...wait...wait!  They'll be ready around Christmas!

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Be Refreshed!