Though I told myself I had canned the last of them, I did can another round of green beans yesterday. While watching a movie the other night, Joseph and I shelled a mixture of beans from the garden. I cooked some for dinner, then canned the rest in pint jars to add to soups this winter. I wish their lovely colors stayed with them through the cooking, but here's how they looked after being canned. Not as pretty, but they'll still be good eating.
I did make the pawpaw pudding recipe, and we liked it. It does have a fairly intense pawpaw flavor, but that works for me in small doses. I think I may try cutting the 2c of pawpaw down a bit, and see how that turns out. The very same recipe happens to be in a pawpaw article in Our State magazine this month. Either the article, or a link it had, told of peeling the pawpaws, then mashing them in a bowl, and removing seeds. I did try that method. It may save a small bit of time, makes a finer pulp due to the mashing, and probably has a little less waste of pulp. It's still a messy job, though. I thought I'd mention that some folks find the fragrance of ripe pawpaws to be unpleasant. I find it to be a nice tropical fragrance, and my Mom feels the same. However, if they become overripe, it can take on a rather cloying scent. There is a very small window of opportunity between ripe and overripe. Once they have fragrance, and are barely soft, that's the time to eat them. A day or two later, they'll begin turning brown.
I'm excited about an upcoming road trip J & I are taking with my Dad and his lovely wife. I do love a good adventure!
