Tons of Potatos and Beans, OH MY!

[watersole]

Hi all,

I'm a member of a CSA, and for the past two deliveries, I've gotten many small white potatos and a large bag of green beans.

Beyond making dehydrated potato chips, and cutting up the beans for salads, what can I do with them? Got any ideas or great recipes?? I do not want them to go to waste! There's so much!

I suppose I could give them to someone else, but I wanna try to use them first! :D

Thanks guys!

[SamuelWilson]

I am sure someone on this forum has an idea about potatoes. The best thing so far is slicing them super thin and dehydrating them making potato chips. I sprinkle Celtic Sea Salt on them. I was concerned about Celtic Sea Salt, but after some research, I have found that it is actually a very beneficial salt. Now table salt from the grocery store is the stuff to avoid, but not Celtic Sea Salt.

I did experiment with some small potatoes sliced in my hot water bath kettle. It never gets hotter than 120. However, it had very little effect on making the potatoes more palatable.

I would be interested to hear any suggestions, however, I feel the dehydrator is the best way to make the potato more tasty.

[Jo-anne]

I used to LOVE potatoes but since going raw I don't eat them at all, only because I feel that if it can't be eaten raw then it wasn't meant to be eaten by man, i could be wrong just my own personal view on potatoes. Although I do agree 100% with Samuel Wilson about the Celtic Sea Salt, its very nice, way different in taste than the white grocery store bought salt.

As with beans, you could maybe marinate them over night. But, iam sure you will get some feedback with creative ideas for both the potatoes and beans from others on this forum.

Do you have Alissa's book ? has a lot of fantastic recipes, ideas etc.


Jo-anne

[Sweet lips]

You can use any picke recipe and pickle the green beans. While it is a potato chip sort of - you can shred them like hash browns, season them up, use a little oil and dehydrate them until crisp.

[watersole]

I will definitely be trying chips and the hashbrown idea... I guess I can also experiment with marinating the beans and combining an appropriate sauce for them too... and speaking of sauce, maybe I can come up with an "au graten" recipe for the taters too!

Thanks everyone!!

[SamuelWilson]

Which variety of beans are you all talking about and how do you get them soften up. I have soaked beans 24 and 48 hours and they still seem pretty firm to me. I have not soaked them in my 120 degree water canister though, however, I would be afraid of spoilage if I soaked beans for 48 hours at 120 degrees.

[watersole]

well since posting I've found these two recipes:

Green Bean Atjar (from Renee Loux's Living Cuisine)

6-8 cups water
2 lbs fresh green string beans
2 tbs celtic sea salt (sun dried sea salt)
1 cup organic extra virgin olive oil
1.5 tbs curry powder
1tsp turmeric
1.5 tsp chopped hot chili pepper
1 tsp chopped garlic
2 tsp crushed coriander seeds

Boil water and allow to cool slightly. Place beans in a deep bowl and pour enough hot water to cover. Allow to stand 2 mintues Drain and rinse. Return beans to bowl and add sea salt. Mix until salt dissolves. Cover with plastic wrap or a plate and allow to set for 2 hours. Drain beans and squeeze to remove excess moisture. Pack beans in aquart jar. Mix oil and spices in a bowl. Pour over beans. Cover the jar in the refridgerator for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days before serving.


Sweet potato crips (I'm trying this with the white potatos)

3 cups peeled and shredded sweet potato
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup almonds
2 cups flaxseeds
2 cloves garlic
1 cup chipped red onion
1 tbs dried rosemary
1 tbs savory or thyme
1 tbs coriander seeds
1-2 tsp sun dried sea salt (celtic)

Soak sweet potato in 1/4 cup lemon juice and 3 cups fresh water overnight (6-12 hours) to leech excess starch. Drain and rinse in a strainer. Soak almonds in 2 cups fresh water overnight 96-12 hours). Drain and rinse. Soak flaxseeds in 4 cups fresh water for 15-20 minutes or until saturated. The flaxseeds will absorb most or all of the water. Grind the sweet potato, almonds, flaxseeds, garlic, red onion, rosemary, savory or thyme, and coriander seeds. This can be done in a masticating or triturating juicer, with the homogenizing "blank" plate. Alternatively, they can be ground in a food processor or blender in several batches, adding fresh water as necessary to blend smooth. In a bowl, mix sea salt into mixture with clean wet hands. Spread the mixture thinly on nonstick sheets to the edges of the dehydrator trays. Use a rubber spatula for easy spreading. Dehydrating at 108 for 12-20 hours or until almost dry. peel off the sheets. cut into triangles, or whatever shape, and return to the dehydrator without hte sheets for a few hours or until cripsy. Store in resealable bags ina cool dry place.

I typed these really quick from the book, so sorry if there are typos.

I hope the bean recipe answered the above post about soaking the green beans. I'll let yo uall know how these come out.