Beans, Pawpaws and More Beans

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!