[Salmo]

Borlotto beans do the same job. They are not red but yield well. Rather than try to dry them and have to rehydrate, I pod them once the beans have formed and have colour and freeze them.

[AnneB]

You are doing well to get a good yield from Borlotti beans, I have never managed enough for more than one meal. 

This year I grew Starley Red Peas from the Heritage Seed Library.   They are in fact a dwarf French bean with pink/red/brown coloured mature beans that are used to make Jamaican rice and peas.  I think they would be fine in a chilli though.   

Only got 10 seeds to begin with, but the yield is sufficient to provide plenty of seed for next year and a few meals too.  Next year if they do well again I should have enough to share with other plotholders on our site who are after some.

[Comfreypatch]

I read about boiling the beans rapidly for 10 mins cooling and freezing. That is what I am doing with all the French beans that have gone over. I picked a lot today, some looked as though the pod was full but the beans were small. I don't want to wait until they have dried on the plants.