Of course, this is nothing new to us. We can as often as possible. Once all the seasonal fruits and vegetables are gone and winter winds begin to blow, we can soups and stocks of all kinds, for the cold days ahead.
There is one thing that seems to be a lost art in these modern days, that of sun dried foods.
We especially enjoy "shucky" beans. My grandpa always called them "Leather Britches", because of their texture. Even after being soaked and cooked, they are a little tough and chewy. They have a distinct flavor all their own.
Traditionally, the beans are dried on screens or dry cotten cloths, outdoors in the sun.
However, my brother bought us a new fangled Food Dehydrator. I was skeptical the first time used it, but it works quite well. Best of all the beans retain most of their color. Drying them outside fades the color.
As I put away the dehydrator, something stirred up a memory. Twas a memory of my granny. She canned every year, anything grandpa grew in his garden.
In these days of plenty, we can because we enjoy doing it. Granny canned to make sure there was plenty of food for her family through the winter season. She dried beans in the hot July and August sun
As I put my dried beans into their containers, I could see a picture of my little granny, carrying her beans wrapped in an old cotton print feed sack. I could just see her in her little print house dress with the cap sleeves and her pinnefore apron.
She would carry the little bundle of beans in her apron by taking the bottom two corners in one hand. With the beans safely stowed away there, she stepped down the big step from the kitchen to the back door , and with her free hand opened the door and walked out back and laid the old cloth on some old boards that grandpa had left lying around.
She carried them outdoors as soon as the dew dried and the bright morning sun shown through.In the evening, before the dew fell again, she would gather in her little bundle of beans. She repeated this procedure daily, until the beans were dry and brittle. If perchance a little bit of moisture would creep in, some of the beans would mildew. To prevent spoiling the whole batch, she would "pick Through" them removing only the ones that which appeared to have fallen prey to the dreaded mildew.
I can't help but feel a little guilty, as I'm putting my electric food dehydrator back on the shelf.
I've got that old apron and the cloth on which she laid her beans, under the hot sun. They lay safely in her cedar chest which has been relocated from her back bedroom to mine.
Someday, just for the fun of it, I'll get out that old tattered cloth, and lay some of my beans out on it under the bright sunshine, and dry some beans the way she did.
I believe that if I put out the same old cloth that she used, and tended the beans just as she did, that I could feel her smile, and somewhere in my mind, see her sparkling blue eyes, and the way she gingerly worked around in the kitchen in that little apron over that simple little cotton print dress. This is one of the many memories I have of my granny. She was born in Hazard Ky. Perry County and lived there until the mid forties. She was the daughter of Jay and Hattie Draughn
2004