Thunder and mung beans.

The haze of Friday morning went,   but on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons there were huge gleaming white thunder clouds looming up behind us,  quite beautiful against the deep blue sky but threatening looking.  Today's forecast was for the odd cloud but with a high chance of thunder later on.  As it turned out it's been totally cloudy all day,  very humid,  no point in doing any washing and I didn't even think about slicing any more strawberries for the drier.

After we'd had lunch and cleared up I sat outside for a bit reading,  thunder rumbling in the distance.  Then it got closer and a breeze picked up,  time to go in.  Away with the sun umbrella and towels and seat cushions,  time to check email instead.   And write this.  Got one email done when the heavens opened and the thunder cracked right overhead and the power went.

Half an hour later it's all over and done with,  I've paddled to the drain in the corner of the front garden to clear it and let the water out,  John has propped up rain sodden plants and  we've swept the shed roof clear as that was another blocked drain.  It only takes a few leaves or olives.  The temperature has dropped about 5 degrees and there is nice cool air coming in through the lounge door -  I left it open during the rain and of course it splashed inside so now we've got old towels down to dry the floor.

But what I was going to write about were these beans.

At the end of June,  John put some mung beans to sprout for fresh beansprouts to have in a stir-fry a few days later.  But on the day he needed them they weren't sprouted enough so he opened a jar instead,  planning on using the fresh ones a couple of days later.  As it happened, we forgot about them for another few days and when we remembered it was almost a week from the initial soaking.  And they had leaves and roots!  Neither of us like to throw things out so we found some spaces in a raised sunny bed amongst the geraniums,  I gently teased the plants apart and we planted some.  Most of them were far too tangled together so for those I just made a largeish hole and dumped them in - either they grew or didn't but it gave them a chance.  And they did grow,  and are now flowering and have made bean pods! 

the mung bean in full flower.....

and pods developing.

The flowers are pale and yellowish in colour and the pod grows behind, each one seems to have about 10 beans developing.  A quick google around shows there are lots of recipes using dried mung beans,  used instead of chickpeas,  for hummus,  in soups and stews etc. 

So another bean that we find easy to grow,  to add to the broad bean and  borlotto stocks.  We'll have to start eating more beans as they are so easy and less potatoes which we have to buy.  But beans can never replace a big buttery pile of mash,  or crunchy chips, or a jacket with blue cheese....still, food for thought.