Yesterday was my birthday...

....so that means two things:

1.) It means -- I'm a Virgo -- so I like things neat & tidy. Maybe that's why I enjoy making Dilly Green Beans so much. Fitting all those precisely-cut green beans into the pint-size jar "just so" is just so much fun. 

 Green beans, packed in jars, waiting for herbs, spices and brine.

Green beans, with all the good stuff added, and by good stuff, I mean dill seed, flowering dill heads, pepper corns, garlic and brine. The final step was to seal & process the jars, so they can be stored in the pantry for several months, at least. I love it that these Dilly Green Beans are shelf stable. That means I'll be opening up a jar of these "birthday beans" in the middle of winter and they'll be a zesty reminder of a hot August afternoon.

2.) It also means my almost-husband took me out to a birthday dinner, to one of my favorite places. He wanted to take me to a certain French restaurant, but I got to choose, of course (it being my birthday and all.) Don't get me wrong, French food makes me swoon, but I had a craving, and the only thing that would satisfy my hunger was KimChi Bistro on Broadway.

I LOVE KimChi (or KimChee). What can I say? I can't get enough pickled and fermented food. And the way Korean restaurants bring out the Banchan?

I'm addicted.

iPhone photo...not great, but you get the picture. No pun intended.