Gotta Love Those Butter Beans

When Russ was a newborn, he had some very serious, life-threatening injuries that required a long hospital stay after being life-flighted to New Orleans Children's Hospital.  Thank the Good Lord that he is fine now.  Russ was one day old when he was life-flighted and a nurse on the transport team nicknamed him "Butterbean." I've never had a nickname, but I always thought the nickname, "Butterbean," for Russ was a good one.

Guess what? I like butter beans, too!  I have an entire row of them growing in the garden.  They grew like crazy all throughout the spring and summer.  They are loaded up with nice pods and on Saturday, I figured it was a good day to get a bowl and pick a 'mess' of them.

Trellised butterbeans

If you take a peak beneath all the foliage, you can see numerous pods hanging from the vines.  To determine the ones that are ready to pick, I just run my fingers over the pod, looking for the bulge telling you that the pods are full of mature butter beans.

Ready to pick

After a few minutes, I picked a nice bowl of them.  Picking the pods off of the vines is a satisfying thing.  You can't really call it work.

But the thing that is more satisfying than picking them is shelling them.  In order to shell them, it is important to find yourself a comfortable spot to sit.  The first choice would be to sit down in a rocking chair on the front porch.  I opted for the second best choice as it was nearer - a swing under a shady live oak tree.  Of course you can shell them anywhere.

A nice spot to shell butter beans

The pods are large.  The beans within are huge, fat and bulging.

I planted several different varieties.  Here is a cool-looking speckled pink and maroon one.  If I remember correctly, this is the Dixie Speckled Butterpea.

They are big beans, easily wider than my ring finger.

Here's a nice contrast between the two varieties I was picking.

The beans are large, so it didn't take many beans to start filling up the bowl.  Those are some nice looking beans, right there.

But here is the nicest shot - the real money shot.  As pretty as they are in the bowl, they are even prettier when they are cooked up and plated on top of rice with some cut up sausage, garnished with some fresh green onions with a side of sauteed bok choy and some homemade cornbread.

Wow!  That's a good southern meal.  Gotta love those butter beans!