On the same topic - preserving annual veggies - I noticed that they discussed freezing vs fermenting vs canning, but paid short shrift to drying. Drying seems one of the easiest and least expensive options. A
solar dehydrator need not use any power to run, and in dry climates even that is likely unnecessary: most foods can be dried in the sun and wind. Once dried, seal it up in a jar and store it somewhere dark and cool and, unlike frozen foods, it is good for months or years without any added
energy.
They did mention drying
nettles and making kale chips. Both very good options. And they mentioned shell peas and shell beans that "dry themselves" if left to fully ripen and dry up in the pod.
But in addition, there are sun-dried tomatoes. Need I say more? Delicious! And, of course, any thin-fleshed pepper is easy enough to dry. For thicker peppers, you can try smoking them, as the Mexicans do with jalapenos, which are too fleshy to dry reliably, thus producing chipotles!
You can dehydrate okra pods. I had "okra chips" once, and they were delicious! The man who sold them explained that you dehydrate the pods, then toss them with oil and a little flour (maybe it was straight starch) and salt and then bake them crispy. I have not yet tried to reproduce these yummy little finger-foods, but I don't see why you couldn't stop after the drying step and store them for a while before proceeding with the rest of the process. Or chuck the dried pods straight into some soup or stew.
Also, you have “leather britches.” This is what the old time Appalachian farmers called green beans allowed to grow till the pods were pretty well filled out, then picked, strung up on fishing line, and dried. Later they’d be reconstituted by boiling the hell out of them with some fatback. Apparently it produced a unique taste, though I’m sorry to say I can’t comment on that from any personal experience.
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