Storing Chants

With the incredible dryness we're having(even the thunderstorms completely miss us or drop little more than a sprinkle) I started thinkin' about my dry stores and wishing that I'd made the extra effort to squirrel more away.Anyway,in case anyone is interested I've noticed that chants are a different animal when it comes to storing.Drying seems to make them tough and freezing outright tends to make them bitter.A friend of mine grinds the dried ones into powder and uses them like seasoning.You get the flavor but not the texture.I've pickled them and they're great that way but are only for snacking.So when there's a bumper crop I saute piles of 'em in butter(and maybe a little seasoning),cool 'em and put in freezer bags with all the juice they produced.Saving the juice is key and I'll add a little white wine or sherry to the pan during cooking to make sure there's plenty.A quart bag holds a nice meal's worth.Add to whatever dish you want.Just needed to post something about shrooms.Now I need to get back to pumping water out of the pond,if there's any left,for the veg gardens.Happy................watering!!!