Just in case anyone is wondering about the little "cloud" it the upper part of the crockpot, its bacon grease!

Looks YUMMY :).

Annette

"Just in case anyone is wondering about the little "cloud" it the upper part of the crockpot, its bacon grease!"

And here I thought maybe you were drooling on the lens. ;-)

I am so jealous - I am at least a couple of weeks away from this scene... Hope they tasted as good as they look!

Cindy

Wertach, beautiful picture. I know you really enjoyed eating them. I know, because I love them. My BJBB have slowed down in their production due to this hot weather. But the family was about burnt out on them and we started freezing them.

Happy gardening to all,

Luther

I had a lightning strike and it fried my puter....plus a lot of other stuff. Broke down and bought a new puter.

Last night I picked about a quart and a half, after shelling.

Since I have been so busy with warranty's and insurance claims I've neglected my garden. Most of them had dried on the vine so they are soaking now.

They are so many different colors on the dried ones! Should have took a pic but it was past bedtime. They have swelled to about 2 and 1/2 quarts! Had to add more water!

I will cook them tomorrow, after I take a pic, if I can wait that long!

Yes Cindy, they were great! They reminded me of the old speckled butterbeans I grew up eating! Don't remember the real name of the ones I grew up eating, Dad just called them speckled butterbeans.

Hey Wertach and Luther!

We had our first small harvest of BJBBs last night! They were delicious! I am not originally a Southerner, so tend to cook most beans and peas much less time than I read in recipes - cooked these in just enough water to cover for about 20 minutes and they were delicious! My husband (probably qualifies as a southerner now as he's been here for ~40 years) said they needed more cook time, but were very good. Tasted like limas to him.

We had both purple hull cowpeas and BJBBs (cooked separately) to do a taste test (and have enough for a meal...). The cowpeas won the taste test - but I think a somewhat longer cook time with perhaps a bit of bacon would enhance the butter beans.

Thank you again Flintknapper for the seeds (if you're still reading this board? You've been quiet.)

Cindy

I knew I got Flintknapper's name wrong! LOL Yes, Cindy you need to add bacon, ham, or fatback to your beans and peas if you want to be a Southerner! ;)

I also like cowpeas better than any butter beans, but I was born and raised in SC.

I have been experimenting with seasoning the BJBB's. 20 minutes does seem a little short on cooking time, but I usually use my crockpot for cooking them.

Were they kinda hard in the middle? Did you salt them when you started cooking them? I have found out that the salt needs to be added towards the end of cooking or they will be kinda tough.

The best ones I have had were in the crockpot. I put in a slice of bacon and two cloves of garlic, chopped fine and cooked on the low setting for 2 hours. Added salt and cooked another hour. The next best was with a chunk of sugar cured ham. I tried country ham too but the beans seemed tough from the salt,I should have washed the ham first, I guess.

They don't break apart like regular lima beans do in a slow cooker and have a really good texture. I have only fixed one batch (or mess as we say in the south) on the stove because I'm too lazy!

I need to go out and pick them now but it is 97 degrees in the shade outside and high humidity! Heat index about 110! I'll wait till sundown!

Hey Wertach!

Actually they weren't really hard in the middle, but definitely not "buttery" yet. I seldom salt food until it's on the table - trying to keep the drug companies out of my life...

I have been experimenting with Southern bean recipes this summer - so I have a stash of fatback measured and frozen. I made green beans and new potatoes for the first time this summer - actually I am now on my 4th or 5th version of this Southern/Northern Fusion dish. I start with rendering the pork fat, saute a lot of thickly sliced sweet onions and fine chopped garlic til soft, add ~2# green beans that you think are past edible (tender beans are wasted here...), barely cover with veggie broth and fresh black pepper. Simmer for 25 minutes. Add red potatoes and simmer another 15-30 minutes depending on how mushy you like potatoes. Lots of fresh ground pepper and a dusting of salt at table is perfect.

I've never tried the crockpot for beans. That should make the house smell marvelous! Sugar cured ham - mmmm love it. I don't do country ham. Nah uh.

I'm only gardening very early now - I must go in at 9 because I will melt otherwise. It hit 107 in the garden today (that's in the shade too) and I will not look at the heat index... Stay cool!

Hi Everyone,

Sound like you guys are having some good meals. We all have different ways to cook our fresh vegetables. Whatever tastes the best to your taste buds. I love my peas/butterbeans cooked with some type of pork. Add enough water to cover, add salt, black pepper, bring the vegetables to a boil, cover and simmer until done. If you don't know which way to cook them, experment until you find which way fits your taste buds. I've ate other folks cooking and found out different ways they cook and it is all good.

Happy to hear you are enjoy all the fresh vegetables.

Luther

I didn't get to the BJBB's until late yesterday afternoon. A lot of them had dried and popped open, scattered all over the ground. I wasn't about to leave them, so I crawled down the row picking them up one by one. My knees are sore and all scratched up!

Wertach, You now have some seed for next year. I always put them under a air condition vent and it will take all the mosture out of them,in just a few days. Them I label and bag them for storage in my freezer. This way they will keep for years.

Happy garden to all,

Luther

I have been drying them in a bowl, on the top of my fridge, since Aug. 6th, on your suggestion. I stir them daily. They are not under an AC vent since my vents are in the floor!

Do you think they will be dry enough to put in the freezer now? Sweethang is wanting them off of the fridge....

Can you put them under a fan? If you put them in a wire mesh bowl, on top of your AC floor vent, they would dry out very well.

Happyday, I have a cat, if I put them on the floor she would scatter them everywhere! LOL

I think they are dry enough, I couldn't dent them at all with a fingernail when I first shelled and/or picked them up, over a week ago. I put them in a ziplock with a paper towel yesterday, I will pop them in the freezer this weekend.

I have saved seed from a lot of beans and peas over the years. I just shelled the dry pods and popped them in the freezer with great success. I just don't want to loose these kinda rare and delicious BJBB's!