It Doesn't Look Good, But it Tastes Great!

Last night I showed you that we planted some cowpeas in the garden plot in the side yard.  The three rows in our main garden are about to play out and it was time to get some new ones planted to have peas consistently coming in.  It is important in these crazy times to have food in your pantry and food in your garden.

Tonight I'd like to show you another sort of strange crop we have growing:  Black Turtle Beans.  They are, as the name suggests, black.  They are called turtle beans because they have a hard outer shell.  This bean is popular in Latin America and Cuba.  I harvested a bucket of them the other day.  I let these dry on the bush before picking.

I meant to save a photo of the black beans after I shelled them, but Tricia started cooking them before I was able to get a shot.  Suffice it to say, they are black and shiny.  We like to make refried black beans and use them as a dip to eat with chips.  We soak the beans for 7 hours in water and a some Apple Cider Vinegar.  We rinse the beans and cook them like you would any other bean.  When they are done, we pour most of the water off, add some oil and 'fry' them in a skillet until the consistency is like that of bean dip.

Then we dip our Blue Corn chips into our refried Black Beans for a delicious snack!

It may not look pretty, but it tastes great!  I saw the black beans were blooming again in the garden.  Perhaps we'll get another harvest.