2016 CSA Summer  August 20th okra beans

• Green Beans
• Okra
• Chard
• Lacinato Kale
• Bell Peppers
• Specialty Peppers
• Eggplant
• Dill
• Thai Basil
• Yellow Squash
• Gold Bar Zucchini
• Potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers

Now into green bean land! There are so many ways to enjoy green beans from tempura (photo from recipegreat.com), casserole (photo preventcancer.aicr.org) to salad (photo delectablyfree.com), but i did not find any recipes using raw green beans, and we do enjoy them raw ourselves. All of the salad recipes called for the beans to be blanched, cooked to the tenderness of your liking.

2016CSA_Summer_Aug 20 green beans tempura

But the recipe that really caught my eye was a homemade version of green bean casserole from scratch, from the previously mentioned preventcancer.aicr site, photo above left.  Ingredients: 1 lb of green beans, oil, ½ cup chopped onion, ½ cup panko breadcrumbs, 8 oz chopped mushrooms, 1 clove of chopped garlic, 2tbs of flour, 1 ½ cup milk, salt, pepper and pinch of cayenne. The recipe says to cook the green beans, 5 min, set in oiled baking dish; sauté the onion and mix with the breadcrumbs for topping; then cook the mushrooms 2-3 minutes before finishing with the garlic, add to the green beans in the baking dish; then add a bit of oil and the flour, scraping bits together from the pan and add the milk, stirring vigorously; simmer until thick enough to coat spoon, or until stirring with the spoon creates a wide swath, from 5-7 minutes, and add the seasonings. Mix this with green beans and mushrooms, spreading into an even layer.  Sprinkle with the topping and bake for about 10 minutes or until top is crunchy….Doesn’t that sound good! Much better than casserole from a can J.

2016CSA_Summer_Aug 20 green beans growing