Runner Beans "Borlotto Lingua di Fuoco" or "Firetongue"

Runner bens have been the most successful crop of the year. There wasn't enough time to run back and forth with watering cans, but they did well anyway, climbing up their support all the way into the trees. In fact, there are still some lonely pods hanging too high up to reach, waiting and drying up patiently to become seeds for next year.

I cannot remember how I acquired these seeds, but they were most likely an impulse buy.

They are called "Borlotto Lingua di Fuoco" or "Firetongue" because of their bright red pods.They start green as any other beans pods, but as they mature, red splotches appear, eventually fusing together, turning the pod dark red.

I turned the first little harvest of pods into a stir-fry and the latter ones were blanched and frozen for later. I loved checking on them, watching them grow, checking on the size of seeds in the pods and eventually picking and cooking them.