Maureen C. BerryI’m grateful.

Yesterday I froze three pounds of fresh, organic green beans.

Half of my CSA basket this past week contained these babies. I’m not going to gush and say, “I love green beans, I could eat them every day,” because really, I’m pretty neutral about them. I think they make a great soup-filler, and I enjoy the super-skinny ones. But the everyday, pedestrian green bean as a side is, well, kind of boring.

What can you do with a half basket of fresh green beans?

Well, maybe you love green beans or have a family of five or six and will can burn through that half basket in one meal.

For the rest of us, single and two-person families, I offer up my three-solution green bean dilemma.

First. Roast them. Yup, salty, crunchy sweet green beans are a must. Trim, wash, dry, then spread on a foil-lined baking sheet. Pour a little olive oil on them, sprinkle kosher salt and crank the black pepper over them. Roast in a 450 oven for about ten minutes, (more or less depending on size.) Eat immediately.

Maureen C. BerrySecond. Trim, cut, blanch for three minutes (more or less depending on size), and then freeze them. Eat within eight-ten months.

Third. Try the green bean recipe from my CSA, courtesy of Chef Chris DeVoto, Twin Maples Organics. (I modified the recipe amounts for clarity.)

  • 2 handfuls of beans (tipped and tailed), 2 small onions (sliced) and half the garlic (3-4 cloves) (thin sliced), salt and a little butter.
  • Bring a large pot of water to boil, enough to cover the beans and season with 3 tablespoons of salt.
  • Cook the beans until slightly softened (crisp-tender) 5 minutes.
  • With a strainer, (or spider), transfer the blanched beans to a bowl of ice water only to allow cooling. (You could do all green beans this way to have on-hand in the refrigerator for a quick drop in the skillet side.)
  • With a large frying pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and cook the onions until slightly golden. Depending on your love of garlic add up to the entire bulb (thin sliced cloves) and cook until golden. Watch the pan carefully to not burn garlic. Add beans and sauté until your doneness, (about 10 minutes.)
  • Eat immediately.
And that’s it. My gratitude extends out to you for reading this post. Please share this post to keep the good-feel vibe going. Thanks.