What's for Dinner?

Cranberry Beans!
(*I apologize in advance...blogger just refuses to allow me to make this a pretty post*)

















Interesting, huh?

We got them in at the market today. My Uncle knew if he pointed them out to me, I'd have to buy some.

If its different, I'll give it a go. If it's weird, I'll try it. If it doesn't have liver in it, I'll eat it.

They were different, weird, and they didn't have liver in them...so bought me a bag o' beans on my way out of work...and took them on home.


There is a bit of range in the speckley-ness of the pods. The pods go from pink and greenish specklesto increasing pink speckles on white, to almost pure red.



















The Cranberry Beans came from a farm in New Jersey, just over the state line.

We got in several bushels this morning to sell. They are so beautiful, they were practically selling themselves (it couldn't have hurt if my Uncle talked to them either, right?).

So pretty, it almost seemed a shame to shell them.

But of course I did...

















The beans inside the pods are speckled, too. Light pink to hot pink dots were on each bean. (They look like they would be nice jelly bean colors...)

I couldn't resist, I had to eat some raw. They weren't bad, like a raw Lima Bean. Between my son and I, we ate a handful before they got to the pot.

I don't know if you can make it out, but the inside of the bean's pod is completely white, no speckles at all.





















Here they are, beginning to heat on the stove.

Water, salt, pepper, and a bit of butter.

The directions for cooking the beans said it was to take 15 to 25 minutes on the stove top. With plenty of experience cooking fresh beans...that seemed a bit short for the time...so I started then early.

...I am glad I started the beans early. They were on for 45 minutes before we ate them, but maybe could have used another few minutes.



















Viola! A steamy pot of Cranberry Beans.

They taste kinda Lima Bean...ish.

The beans lost the pink polka dots soon after I started them cooking. In the middle of cooking they looked mostly green. As they got to the end of cooking they turned a purple-beige color (would that be taupe colored beans?).

They were very good. A different, weird, liver-less kind of good. I'd recommend you try them if you come across some at a market (and especially if a guy who looks like he could be my Uncle, says you should try them).