Do We Like Lima Beans?

Maybe. The first batch of our first lima beans that I cooked needed some whiz. They were okay, but needed more flavor. Frank calls them butter beans. The thing that was interesting and kind of weird about these was the red and white mottled color. They just didn't look quite like lima beans, even though they were beautiful.

I started them off in this pan with some salt, pepper and a little sausage grease for flavor. I soon found out that this pan just wasn't big enough.

So I changed pans, and put them in my small cast iron pot. It's great. I let them cook until they were soft.

We decided to have them like a bowl of pinto beans. But after Frank looked at the color of the broth, he said, "I'm not eating that broth, it looks like dirt."  I decided I'd better fix some bread to go with them, so he wouldn't go hungry.

Well, they were okay. They were also very soft. I didn't need to cook them as long as I did, but these are the first fresh lima beans I have ever cooked. They needed more flavor - salt, bacon, something. The bread and butter was good.

And we were so lucky to have leftovers! Hmmm..... what did I do with them this time? Not much. We had some bacon we needed to cook, so we had beans and bacon. Not very appetizing, huh?



Well, we still haven't decided if we like these or not. I think they would be a good addition to a stew or soup, but not as a meal or a side dish. Frank would rather have the regular green or white beans instead of the red and white mottled ones. And I thought they were just too big. I am used to a much smaller bean, like a pinto.

So, do we like lima beans? The verdict is still out on that subject. If the freezing weather holds off long enough, we should get another picking. I will have to experiment some more and try a different way to cook them. If this is basically how they will cook up and taste then I would rather spend my time and effort on something that I know we will enjoy that still provides similar nutritional value to our diets. It's a good thing to know.

On to the next learning experience. I just hope it tastes better than this one!

Until next time - Fern