I've picked quite a nice looking batch of soy beans the other day. These are called 'Beer Friend' and are very plump and nice looking. I did have a real bear of a time getting these to sprout though. Normally beans (any type) are the easiest things to grow - just throw them in the ground and that's it. But this year all of my beans didn't want to sprout. I must have planted, and replanted, and replanted these soy beans in particular over 5 times just to get only about 1/2 of the plants that I originally wanted. What the hell?

However these soy beans do have a nice yield to them. This is probably about half of the soy beans that are on the plants. The others could still use a few more days or so before they should be picked.

So this weekend I'm going to settle down with a nice cold brew and some beer friend edamame. Edamame are easy to prepare. Just boil the soy beans (still in the pods) in salt water for about 4-5 minutes, drain, and then sprinkle with a little additional kosher salt. Once they are cool enough to handle just eat the beans directly out of the pods. Yum!!!