Hi! Hope everyone is enjoying a bountiful harvest time! Our "problem" is that we have SO MANY dry beans to process! Aside from making or buying a bean sheller, do you creative folks have any innovative ways of shelling mountains of dry beans! Thanks

-- mary (namwen64@juno.com), August 27, 2001

Answers

This is what we do: have a big family get together and put everyone outside on the porch on chairs arranged in a circle. Tell funny family stories on everyone. Even the littlest children can help and learn some family history to boot. Sometimes we sing. Here's a little game to keep the litle ones happy: see who can get the most beans per pod!Do this until your thumbs ache and then some.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), August 27, 2001.

Spread them out on old sheets and use a flail on them. At least you know how much NOT to plant next year! LOL!

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), August 27, 2001.

Put 'em in a feed sack and get the kids to do the boogaloo or dance of their choice all over the bag and bean pods. Then spread a sheet below a chair in the back yard on a breezy day and pour the beans and their chaff out on the sheet. The chaff blows and the beans fall. May need to be done more than once.

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), August 27, 2001.

Sell the seeds on ebay or send them to me! LOL We think we finally found a place in the country! Realtor should be calling soon to either haggle some more or say the owner accepted our offer.

-- Stephanie Nosacek (possumliving@go.com), August 29, 2001.

We put the dry beans in an old pillow case, hang it from the clothes line, and let the children bat it. Or they get to jump on the bean bag, toss it around, etc. until the beans seperate from the pods. Then on a windy day, we pour the pillow cases into buckets. The pods blow away--but we may need to pour them back and forth between buckets several times.

-- Deborah (jlawton@kaltelnet.net), August 29, 2001.

Thanks for all the great ideas. What a great feeling to watch the pantry fill up with healthy foods! Congrats Stephanie!

-- mary (namwen64@juno.com), August 30, 2001.

Thanks Mary,

One thing we used to do in FL if we had excess dry beans, we used to bag them up in quart bags and drop them off at a church food pantry. You wouldn't believe how grateful they were!

And on the property..finally heard from the realtor. They owner is a drunk by evening. They can't seem to find him. He was supposed to mow the broker's hay field and he hasn't gotten to it yet. LOL

Oh well, the realtor assured me the owner was anxious to sell. We will see.

-- stephanie nosacek (possumliving@go.com), September 01, 2001.