Dilly Bean Appertizers

Erma, you are right. Your Antique Virginia Chili Sauce is Liquid Gold. There must be twenty dollars of fruit in it.

Now here is something that will appeal to your frugal side, and your gourmet side: Old California Dilly Beans. Simple, basic ingredients. Super easy to fix. And cheap if you grow your own green beans. To be nice and crisp, the beans have to be right off the vine. Store bought and they will become Dilly Rubber Beans. Real bad news. How do I know? I tried some.

These are Old California because the woman who gave me the recipe was Old and from California. These are nice appetizers. Very few people had eaten a Dilly Bean.

Old California Dilly Beans:

2 pounds fresh green beans (straight and really crisp)
Cayenne pepper, dried
Cloves of garlic
Dill
2 cups cider vinegar
2 cups water
¼ cup canning salt

Pack washed and stemmed raw beans lengthwise into clean pint jars. To each jar add ½ teaspoon red pepper, 1 clove of garlic and 1 head of dill. Beans should not come above the base of the neck of the jar.

Combine the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Pour over the beans and seal. Allow to cure for 6 weeks. Chill before serving

This makes about 5 pints of Dilly Beans.