Made some spicy green beans. Not overly spiced - gotta keep it edible for the kid. Just enough hot to keep it interesting.
I had a bag of green beans. I'm going to start weighing these things now, I promise! I just got a new kitchen scale for that exact purpose!
I cut the beans into pieces. Ok, I just snapped them with my fingers. I can remember sitting on the porch with my grandparents snapping beans for canning. That's what I did because knife and a cutting board seemed like extra work. I work enough, why do extra if I don't have to?
I mixed up a quart of brine. 1 tablespoon water, 1 1/2 tablespoons salt - canning, not iodized, 1 tablespoon course ground black pepper. I peeled a clove of garlic and split it, but didn't mash or mince it.
Put the beans in the jar, stopping to throw in the garlic and 5 habaneros. Those orange things aren't carrots, they are very hot tiny little peppers, more beans - pressing down to get a tight pack. I don't have weights, need to get some. I've heard that you can get by without them in an airlock system. We'll see. I also heard that olive oil was wonderful and it was a mess. So far the beans are not looking like any oxygen has gotten to them. Still a great color and I'm looking forward to eating them.
Like I said, I wanted spiced, not burning flames, so I didn't cut the pepper. My experience with habaneros is that they will impart a flavor and heat if you just touch the darn things, much less if you marinate them in brine with other stuff. When I do it this way I've gotten just enough heat to make me happy, but kept it mild enough for the kid to also eat. I'm not big on fixing two meals, so most things have to be pleasing across the board. Hubbie is easy - he'll eat anything that looks kinda sorta like food.
Wait a week or 3 then move to the fridge or root cellar for storage. I go with 2 1/2 - 3 weeks, but it's a personal preference.
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