Hands down, our favorite homegrown garden veggie is Baby Lima Beans! I know that’s probably shocking to many of you… only because you’ve never had the joy of enjoying them fresh from the garden! I grew up enjoying homegrown baby lima beans from my grandmother’s garden. They were the highlight of each holiday dinner, bright green baby beans – slathered in real butter. My hubby was a lima bean virgin until his fist holiday at my grandmothers, he also fell in love with them at first bite!!
Of course when my husband and I moved in our house and were planning a garden, lima beans HAD to be included. Following my grandmother’s guidance, each year we plant heirloom King of the Garden Pole Lima Beans on the very same 4 pole tee-pees that she had used in her garden for 50+ years.
One of the most amazing attributes of homegrown lima beans is that they freeze beautifully. Enjoying homegrown, frozen lima beans in the middle of winter tastes the same as they do fresh from the vine!
Here’s How I Freeze Lima Beans:
1. Throughly rinse your shucked Lima Beans
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil
3. Add shucked lima beans
4. Return your water/lima beans to a boil. Blanch Lima Beans for 3 minutes
5. Drain your lima beans and rinse well with COLD water (to stop the cooking process)
6. Pack your blanched lima beans in BPA-Free plastic zipper bags with the air removed & freeze for up to a year
To serve your frozen lima beans, combine lima beans with water and bring to a boil. Begin testing your lima beans after 5 minutes. You want them to be completely cooked but not mushy. Serve with lots of real butter and sea salt! Enjoy!!