Green Beans~

I need to tell you a secret about green beans.
They can be boring.

Every year, we plant lots of green beans! They are usually one of the first things to produce in the garden, since most only take about 45 days from planting. From that point, you will have to pick every few days just to keep up with them. Since Alabama has a long growing season, we could plant them 2-3 times, but I usually only plant once.

They are juicy, fresh and *green*, after a long bleak winter. After a few times of cooking them up in the big pot with a little butter, this can get  b.o.r.i.n.g.

What's a hungry family to do?

Well, after not~ so~ much ~thinking on my part, I decided to add garlic. Lovely, stinky garlic!
We love, love, love garlic.

If your green beans are fresh, just cook them till tender like usual with a little salt. Don't forget the salt! Fresh veggies are like potatoes. You have to add salt to the cooking step, not after, because they will indeed stay boring, no matter what you do to it and you will never get them to taste salty enough. Drain off all the water, add a big dallop of butter and a few cloves of garlic minced up a little. Cook until it's all heated up again and serve.

That's it!

Another variation of this is cooking those beans the good old-fashioned southern way. Cook those beans all day on low heat until they loose all form and look like a mass of limp noodles. They will look very sad indeed. Go ahead and add a big chunk of some kind of pork to it too. (Smoked hog jowl is the usual here in the south or bacon grease.)  They will be very dark green and you will have cooked most of the nutrients out of them, but they are good! Drain and add garlic and butter. A true southern feast!

I can my green beans every year besides eating them fresh and you can do the same thing with them. Green beans are easy-peasy and they don't have to be boring! But......

what about green bean casserole you say? That is not boring.

I am not anti-casseroles. My family ~loves~ casseroles!-- They beg for green bean casserole. You know, the one with the condensed soup and the fake, french-fried onion thingys on top. The one that graces the Thanksgiving meal table every year.
THAT ONE.
Well, it does have green beans in it, which are great for you, but that other stuff......... I can just do without. I haven't a clue how to make it more "healthly" and it taste like......
THAT ONE.
So, with Thanksgiving next week, we'll see what wins out. The garlic or the casserole. I guess I could be sweet and let them have the casserole.
Just once a year won't hurt them will it?


Blessings,
Melissa