Sauteed Ginger Green Bean Recipe

Green beans are one of those vegetables that we grow, but they never make it to the canning or freezing stage in our house.  If my husband had his way, he would just boil the snot out of them and eat them that way.  It is a gross comparison, but that is about how I feel eating them that way.  So I have found a few other ways to cook them to make them more appetizing.  It must work, because the pounds and pounds of green beans that we grow never make it past the dinner table.

One of the easiest things to do is to make "Green Bean Fries."  Clean the beans, snap off the ends, and put them on a cookie sheet lightly coated with olive oil.  Bake at 400 degrees until they are all nice and crispy (the time it takes will depend on the size of your beans).  They won't taste like french fries, but they will be tasty and have a nice satisfying crunch.  These are a favorite of both myself and my daughter. She likes the crunchiness.  I like the easy preparation, and being able to leave them in the oven to cook while I prepare the rest of dinner.  You can add some salt if that is your thing.

Another recipe that I frequently use is Ginger Green Beans.  It doesn't seem to matter how much I make of this recipe, there are never any leftovers, even when I want there to be!

Ginger Green Beans:

Ingredients:

• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 2 tsp minced ginger
• 1 lb green beans (washed, with ends snapped)
• 2-3 TBSP soy sauce (we used reduced sodium)
• Sesame seeds as desired

Directions:

• Heat oil in the skillet over medium-high heat and saute green beans until they begin to lightly brown.
• Add ginger and sesame seeds.
• When all ingredients start to brown, turn heat down to medium-low.  Add soy sauce and stir until just cooked.
• Serve.

Garden Harvest Begins

The rain has finally let up a bit.  Our zucchini, tomatoes, squash, potatoes, green beans and other veggies have been keeping us busy and well-fed.  The raspberries have also been coming in well.  My daughter and I made a very good raspberry-zucchini bread.  I tried a new recipe, courtesy of Fern Creek Farm.  The bread was delicious.  Sadly there are no pictures, because any loaves that didn't make to the freezer were eaten within 3 days.  They sure were tasty.

Zucchini and raspberries.

One of our zucchini plants.

A zucchini peeping out from among the leaves.

Our acorn squash have been taking over.  They have busted out of their fence and are moving into the goat pen.  Luckily for us, the goats don't find the plants tasty.

The acorn squash that have demolished the bunny fence.

Acorn squash, moving into the goat pen.

Chad has also been having some trouble with his tomato plants.  One in particular refuses to be contained, busting out of every kind of tie-up.  It has almost turned into a shrub it is so large.  I have put a picture of Chad next to the plant for some perspective.

Chad and his tomato shrub.