How Does Your Garden Grow?

[flo]

not too long ago a friend and I were discussing beans.  She said butter beans and lima beans were the same thing.  I knew different, cause butter beans are twice as big.  Am I right, Diane?  Pretty please say I win that argument (really just a discussion)

[Diane Amberg]

 Well, you are both sort of right.  Butter beans are a kind of lima bean. The most common form of lima is the little kind, that we call baby limas, but they don't grow up to be any bigger (Fordhook).  Fresh pole limas (green) are the big kind, and have to be harvested by hand because they grow up on a support and have a rather long growing season. "King of the Garden" and "Big Mama" are the more commonly grown kind. Frozen, the big kind are still green, but are usually called butter beans. Canned butter beans are big, tannish in color and are not the same as the little ones that are a bush variety. So, they aren't technically the "same," but are both in the lima bean group. All can be dried.

[Janet Harrington]

I like canned butter beans.  They are very good.  I even have been known to cook butter beans with ham.  Very good.

[Diane Amberg]

 ham and butter beans....wonderful I have a butter bean casserole that has tomato sauce and bacon that is very good. If y'all don't already have it, I'll put it on the recipe thread, just ask.

[emptynest]

Yes, Diane, please put the butter bean casserole with tomato sauce and bacon on the receipe thread.  It might just be that we will have to print out a "forum" receipe book----wouldn't that be cool?   And thank you ahead of time for the receipe.

[Janet Harrington]

Oh My Gosh.  A singing duo.  A frog.  A Ta Ta, of course.  A picnic.  Many mommas.  And now, maybe a Forum cookbook.  How funny!  We are just so full of ideas.

[kdfrawg]

Maybe we can put together a recipe for butter beans and elk!

I have eaten elk, in Canada. I would not particularly recommend it, if what I had was typical. Perhaps we had better stick with butter beans and ham, which I dearly love. I'm not thinking much about cooking, as hot as it has been, but I am looking forward to cooler temperatures so that I can get back into the swing of cooking a little. I tried to talk myself into creamed chhipped beef on toast this morning, but just settled for some Rice Crispies.

Heat, heat, go away.

[Teresa]

I would take elk over deer or beef...IF it is prepared right.

Lots of people don't like wild game.. but you have to know how to process it and prepare it.. and then how to cook it.
We butcher and cut up all of our own... which makes for better meat.
I have had people over for meals and they say that they hate deer burger etc.. but rave about "the 'beef" that they are eating .. only to find out that it is deer meat.
They are shocked..but I do change their mind about liking wild game..

[Ole Granny]

Years ago I had an antelope steak which was close to the best steak I have ever eaten.  Never have had the oppurtunity to eat antelope again but my memory returns to the moment often.  I may have been lucky with the first and only antelope steak consumed.  Love deer meat.  My dad was a bow hunter but could never bring himself to kill the deer.  He enjoyed the challenge anyway.  He said it was something about looking at the deers eyes that stopped him.  His ability with the bow and arrow was certainly more than adequate.  Now the amount of fish he brought home and gave away was amazing.  (I did find a frog soup recipe.)

[Diane Amberg]

 I love venison, depending on what it's been eating.  My next door neighbor, the one with the boat, also deer hunts in western Pa. Where the deer are very big and taste wonderful.  I have deer that come into the yard every night, but I couldn't bear to kill one.  Well, maybe strangle it if it eats my azaleas... again!  We have a herd of 15 that live around here close.  I have a big woods one street over and they live back in there and come out each evening to feed.