Royal Burgundy Bush Beans

Would you like free beans? Freshly picked from our organic market garden. 

Our beans this year are a roaring success. Despite taking longer to mature due to the weather, the production right now is fabulous! We are in the middle of planting our fall crops so I think burgundy bush beans are definitely on the list! Not only are the plants nice and healthy, the quality and yield of the beans has been very good. I'm currently eating them for supper. Here's how I prepared them. I put them in water to boil for two minutes then drained them, returned them to the pan with some coconut oil, garlic seasoning, and lemon juice and I sautéed them for 4-5 minutes. Delicious as a side dish or just as they are. 

Burgundy beans are really fun for kids to cook. They turn green and the water turns a beautiful green colour too. But when you sauté them the remaining water evaporates and leaves behind a purple colour glaze that you can see in the photo above. I think my anniversary special for the farmers market this weekend will have to be beans. Spend $10 and get a free bag of beans and ill include my recipe. Spend $20 or more and I'll throw in some cinnamon buns. Sound good? Get there early, it's going to be fun! Come see us from 10-1 at the Wilmot Community Hall by Bayard Rd on the #1 Hwy near Middleton. 

Mid summer

I'm sitting here at the picnic table with a slice of plum bread enjoying what is probably the coolest morning we've had in a month. It's about 12 degrees but warming steadily as the sun rises. It's a welcome break from some very hot and unrelentingly dry weather. The river is the lowest anyone can recall for decades but our well seems to be fine as long as people do not leave the hose running for 12 hours. 

We had a late night last night. Jordan didn't finish work until 1am so I'm still a bit short of sleep but there's lots of work to be done so I'm sitting here with my notebook. It's now August which means thinking ahead to the end of summer growing. But it's not too late to plant a garden. We are 65 days from first frost (it's just an average) in Greenwood and that means we have time for cool season veggies again. Peas, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, radishes, leeks etc.  Some are started indoors and taken out as transplants so they're growing in the house until they're big enough, others will be direct seeded which means preparing the beds once one crop is finished to make room for the next. So even though we are busy harvesting beans, peas and watching the watermelons grow, were thinking ahead to the next crop and next year. We are also evaluating how the nursery did this year. Next year we will do more selection and an automatic watering system. 

I'm getting a camera for my early birthday present from one of my sons so I'll take some pics this week. Anything you want to see? 

This weekend the Mid Valley Farmers Market is celebrating its one year anniversary. There's a big celebration planned with activities for the kids and great deals at the vendors. If you've wanted to sell at the market but not sure how to give it a try, this week there are no fees for tables so what do you have to lose? Check us out on Facebook. 

Okay well I should get back to work. Time to organize the kids and wwoofers work for the morning. I'll talk to you soon. Elizabeth