Spicy Pickled Green Beans & Garlic Recipe

Oh, yes! The garden is now in production.

With some surprise, after harvesting raspberries yesterday, I was able to pick a full basket of yellow wax beans and green beans. Time to can some pickled beans! Interestingly enough, I had just been daydreaming about biting into a spicy tangy pickled green bean. And voila' - beans are ready!

This recipe came from Renee, a good college buddy (who happens to be visiting Australia right now, but let's not hold that against her). I, per my usual inability to leave well enough alone, have adapted it to our tastes.

Spicy Pickled Green Beans

You need sanitized and prepared jars, lids, and rings. I used 5 pint jars for this recipe.

Fill jars with:

2 lbs. green beans, washed and cut to fit jars (Khloe and I planted green beans and yellow wax beans this year, so I put a mix of beans in each jar)
2-3 cloves of garlic per jar
1 dried Thai chili per jar
1 dill head per jar (I cut apart several large ones and divided it among the jars)
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper per jar
1/8 tsp. crushed red peppers per jar

Pickling liquid (enough for 5 pint jars):

Mix, boil, and pour over beans.

2-1/2 cup water
2-1/2 cup vinegar
1/8 cup salt
4 tsp. sugar

Wipe jar edges clean. Cover with lids and rings. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove and let sit on table undisturbed for 24 hours. Check if jars have sealed. Store in cool, dry place.

Let pickled beans cure for at least 2 weeks before tasting.

Now the hard part - waiting for 2 weeks!

Does anyone know why touching and picking green beans gives me a rash? So itchy! At least it doesn't last, but I am guaranteed some prickles on my hands and arms after perusing the bean bushes.