Handg’rnad Greenbeans

At our house “Science” is a relative word. I gave up teaching “textbook Science” because it could not compare to
“Science by Accident”. Now really you can laugh here! I am only going to share one story………..of the many, many “experiments” we have “run into” over the years.

Remember, we are city folks---gone country. So part of the “country scene” is gardening and then canning what you get! So here we were all ready to go…………

The garden failed completely----a big NOTHIN’ grew! We were very disappointed. Kinda hard blow on the old country ego----that we just weren’t country material if we couldn’t even grow us a garden.

BUT, we did not give up so easily! I just decided that maybe it was too much and I would just go to the Farmer’s Market to buy the produce I needed to can. And so we did…….

The first we bought was green beans! I love green beans. So I bought 2 bushels and spent a Looooooooooooong day snapin’ and the boys joined in the fun too. Ya got to call it fun or the boys will think they are working!!

I got some suggestions from some friends and set out to can. Now I had made some jellies and applebutter before so I thought this couldn’t be too hard. I just did not know how long to waterbath the greenbeans. So I said well, jelly is 10 minutes, I’ll do the green beans a bit longer at 25 minutes.

Stayed up to midnight when the last jar was set on the counter. 45 quarts all pooping their seals, sitting ever so nicely on the counter. I was so proud of this accomplish----though I was dead tired!! (I thought country life was supposed to be relaxing, I felt like I had been run over by a mack truck!!) The next morning I admired our first job again and then found a pantry closet………………..until…………………

Now those of you who are avid canners are already laughing, but those of you who do not can---get ready! A week and ½ later……………….

A strange smell began to emerge from around the trash can in the kitchen-------which happens to be by the pantry door when my beautiful canned green beans were. For a few days I was sorta not really bothered, but it kept getting stronger and stronger. The previous Sunday our dog who normally is VERY good, had an “accident” upstairs on the only piece of carpet we have-------and believe me it was rather odorous maximus!!! We had used the rainbow vacuum to clean up the mess from the dog. Anyway, I thought that the smell was coming from the vacuum cleaner which also was housed in that same small pantry by the trash can along with the green beans!.......... (Amazing how much stuff I can fit in a small space!)

So finally when the smell was NOT going away, I had my oldest son take the vacuum out back and check it all out to see if it was the culprit of the now nasty smell!! He was obedient and did as I asked, but to my dismay, the vacuum came up “clean” excuse the pun!! It was not the vacuum after all. Now I was really stumped.
Finally, my oldest son realizing he would probably be the one to do the investigating, decided to jump start and find the source of the smell himself. And he did………………….

He brings to me in the living room a can of green beans and said, “Mom is all the liquid supposed to be drained out?”
I quickly jumped up took the can and smelled…………oh yeah!
There is not much more gross than rotten food to smell!! Several of the “beautiful” cans of green beans had exploded!! Several more on the way. Come to find out all had to be thrown out for they were not pressure canned!! I did not know.
WHAT A MESS!! Well as my husband and boys dumped out all the jars outside into the trash, (I was busy on the front porch crying my eyes out!) “Why did this happen daddy?” Thus the “science lesson” continues. He explained what had happened and then they wanted to make some more for hand grenades to play with!!

My thoughts, that though the green beans were beautiful on the outside they were rotten on the inside. What is in your heart will come out.

As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man. Proverbs 27:19
It was not very long at all before what was inside the jar came out!! And it was no longer pretty!! It stank! So it is with us. Whether we store up wickedness or righteousness in our hearts, it will come out!

What are you storing up “canning” in you heart?