Abundance of Green Beans!

Its that time of year again!  The gardens have been rocking and the last of the lettuce has been used with the first tomatoes for some awesome BLTs.

 

Nice haul!

It has been a funny year though. I put in tomatoes and peppers during a stretch of warm weather that warmed our soil to 55° and a forecast for more that put us past our last average frost date.  But it was too early, it didn't last, so they were cold stunted and have been slow growing ever since.  There were also really warm temperatures early, causing our spinach to bolt before we got many homegrown smoothies made.  It's also been super wet with lots of rain and therefore slugs. 

 

Three Sisters - Corn, beans, squash and more...

But, I've heard lots of people having bumper crops of green beans this year.  We too are collecting baskets full every few days.  I may have planted too many too... :)  but I really wanted to make sure I had a good companion for our sweet corn. 

You can always blanch them for a few minutes and freeze them for fresh homegrown taste through the winter, but lately we have been using them nearly as fast as they come in a new favorite recipe!

Garden Green Beans with Bacon and Onion

I'm not a chef and all measurements are approximate (but I don't think you can screw this up)

1. Rinse, trim and cut (as desired) green beans - about a gallon, maybe two pounds
2. Add to a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil
3. While the beans are heating
• dice half pound of bacon
• brown in a large skillet
• chop one medium onion
• add to skillet and cook with bacon
• remove up to half of the grease
4. Once the beans come to a boil, continue boiling for 8-10 minutes or until firm but tender.
5. Drain beans and mix well with the bacon and onion mixture

I think you could also add spinach or lambsquarter when you mix it all together for a vitamin and mineral boost.

 

 

You can tell from the nearly empty pan that these have been a major hit at our house.  The picky eaters enjoy them, as well as those who weren't always the biggest fans of fresh green beans.

 

Hope you enjoy!



Don't forget, if you have more than you can eat or store, you can find a food bank that accepts fresh produce through AmpleHarvest.org.