Blistered Green Beans with Ginger & Garlic

How much time do you spend at the Farmer's Market?  How do you decide on what produce to buy?  Do you have a certain routine that you usually follow?

See, I have very specific Farmer's Market behavior that drives my partner Ashley completely crazy.  It goes like this... I have to make at least three complete rounds around the market.

The first round is just for looking.  It's a chance to see what new vegetables have showed up this week, find out price points for produce I'm interested in, and start dreaming of different recipes I want to make.

The second round involves some buying, but mostly more looking.  This is when I buy my essentials that I know I have to have for the week - which usually involves beets, greens, carrots, and onions.  I also usually stop and grab lunch between the second and third rounds.  It gives me more time to decide on other items that I want to buy in the third round.

Then, my third round is all about buying my final picks.  This week I opted for two pounds of green beans, some yellow wax beans, donut peaches, two cucumbers, four green peppers, a half pound of cherries, and some fresh corn.

On occasion, there will be a fourth round in this process if I have to go back for something that I later decide on.  All in all, this process takes at least 45 minutes.  You do not want to rush me during this process.

Ashley's objectives at the market are a little different than mine.  Her only goal is to get out of there as quickly as possible and she does not understand why someone would circle the market several times when you could just buy everything the first time.  Of course, I can usually appease her frustration when I take all of the beautiful produce home and make something amazing.  Hint: like these green beans.

Green beans and me are totally BFFs this summer.   We're making salads together, we're shredding it up, and now we're blistering in a pan covered with soy sauce, fresh ginger, and minced garlic.  I don't have green beans in my garden, but I certainly wish I did because I cannot get enough of them at the moment.  These green beans are a hearty side dish to any meal and they are perfect with some tempeh and brown rice for a simple dinner.  Once you try them you'll have to resist eating them straight from the pan... and you'll be very thankful for all of the time spent at the farmer's market to get them.

Blistered Green Beans
Adapted from Christie's Corner
Serves 4

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons coconut oil (or another oil that can handle high heat)
1 pound green beans, trimmed
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds

Mix the soy sauce, ginger and garlic together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Add the coconut oil to a medium pan and turn to high heat.  Let the oil heat for a minute, then add the green beans and toss to coat them in the oil.  After a minute or so, you should see small brown blister spots.  (If you don't, turn up your heat a bit). Continue to cook them, tossing as necessary, until they are all blistered, about 5 minutes.  

Add the soy sauce mixture to the browned beans and toss to coat. Let the beans saute in the mixture for about 2 minutes before transferring to a serving platter and garnishing with the sesame seeds.

Green Bean, Tomato, and Chickpea Salad

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Access to Healthy Foods Summit organized by the Access to Healthy Foods Coalition.  It was really refreshing to see all of the different ways that organizations, institutuions, and individuals are working together to improve access to healthy foods in Washington State.  In Washington state alone, 15% of our residents do not have consistent access to healthy foods.

It's pretty obvious that I think about food a lot... but I also think about how much access I have to food.  In my neighborhood, I am within walking distance to two different grocery stores and within biking distance to about five.  I have a stable income that allows me to purchase fresh foods and I only work one job so I have the time to prepare the majority of my meals myself.  Additionally, I have access to information about healthy cooking  and have the abilty to prepare healthy foods from scratch, understand what healthy foods are, and read nutritional labels. 

Some of these factors could be said to be my personal choice.  For instance, I choose to purchase healthy foods.  It's true, I do make that choice.  But, there are many factors out of my control that influence my decision.  If I had a limited income, relied solely on public transportation, and my corner "grocery store" did not carry fresh produce, and the next closest store was two bus rides away... how much choice would I have in deciding what I eat?

It's been really exciting to see the ways that more people are becoming aware of "food deserts" (an area where healthy and fresh foods are difficult to find) in our country and working to improve everyone's access to fresh foods.  It's also great to see that EBT cards (food stamps) are now being accepted at various farmer's markets in King County.  Super cool!

How much access do you have to fresh and healthy foods?  What barriers have you seen, for yourself or others, to being able to eat healthfully?  What are some of the ways that you or others could (or may already have) make an impact on these challenges?

I'm not really sure how to transition from talking about food access and scarcity to wowing you with this beautiful salad... So, let's just wow you with this beautiful salad. 

My favorite thing about summer foods are all the colors. It's true that we eat first with our eyes and everything always manages to look more appealing and delicious in summertime. This is a beautiful salad that anyone would be proud to serve up at their next dinner or get-together.  The recipe originally called for red onions and feta cheese, but I switched up the feta for kalamata olives and used green onions instead.  Fresh herbs like parsley are a must on this one, but fresh mint leaves would be good as well. 

Green Bean, Tomato, and Chickpea Salad
Slightly adapted from Everyday Food magazine, June 2011 issue
Serves 4

1.5 pounds green beans, trimmed
3 wide strips lemon zest, cut into thin matchstick, plus 3 Tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 green onions, chopped
2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 can)
1/4 cup kalamata olives, halved
1/3 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves

In a large pot of boiling water, cook green beans until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.  Drain and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking process.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice and oil.  Stir in tomatoes, onions, chickpeas, and lemon zest.  Add olives and parsley and stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper.  Arrange green beans on a serving platter and top with tomato mixture.

Shredded Green Beans with Lemon-Lime Zest and Snipped Chives

You know that sore muscle feeling that you get the day after a really intense workout?  That was my day today.  Walking up stairs... painful.  Sitting down in a chair...more pain.  Getting out of the chair to go to the bathroom?  Not worth it; I can hold it.

With the recent sunshine I've been biking to work regularly and continuing my interval-training classes at my gym.  Apparently my muscles think this is a big mistake.  If you see me with ice packs strapped to my legs tomorrow don't be alarmed.

One of the good things about working out a lot is that when you get home all you want to do is eat vegetables. 

Okay, that's a bit of a lie.  It totally makes you want to eat samoa cookies.  But, I somehow managed to find the willpower to make these delicious green beans instead. 
    
This recipe comes from Heidi Swanson's cookbook Super Natural Cooking and I'm can't wait to get my hands on her new cookbook, Super Natural Every Day.  Heidi is the author of the beautiful blog 101 Cookbooks and is great at creating both healthy and enticing dishes. These green beans are perfect for some quick post-workout fuel.

This recipe comes together easily in under 10 minutes, especially if using a food processor to shred the beans.  She recommends shredding them into very tiny pieces, but I made mine a bit bigger.  Yellow beans would also be a nice addition for color contrast and, if you happen to have some, I really like garnishing this with some chive blossoms.  

Speaking of chive blossoms, if you happen to be growing some chives of your own at the moment I totally recommend letting them go to flower.  Just by the good fortune of me being a lazy gardener I got the chance to experience these adorable and completely edible little buds.  Apparently procrastination pays off.  Who knew?

Shredded Green Beans with Lemon-Lime Zest and Snipped Chives
Serves 4. 
From Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking

3/4 pound green and/or yellow beans, tops and tails trimmed
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons water
Grated zest of 1 large lemon
Grated zest of 1 lime
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
Fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Slice the beans on a diagonal into roughly 1/8-inch pieces.  If you are using a food processor, do them a handful at a time.  Either way the result should be tiny, angular zeros.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the beans and stir until coated with oil, then add the water.  Cover and cook 2 or 3 minutes, until the beans are brightly colored and tender; give the pan a good shake midway through to ensure even cooking.  Remove from the heat and stir in the zests and half the chives.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve garnished with the remaining chives.

Green Bean and Potato Salad with Miso Dressing

I had one goal for myself in 2011:  to go the entire year without any new injuries or physical ailments.  I figured that after last year my injury karma had to get better, right?  My 2010 was consumed by a gall stone diagnosis, shin splints from a running injury in 2008, a sprained ankle, and then a shoulder injury in August that I'm still healing from.  I thought things were looking up.

Then a couple of weeks ago I went to spinning class and strapped my shoe too tight on the bike.  I didin't even know that you could do that, but apparently if you do it bruises your foot pretty bad.  It also doesn't help when you continue to work out on it.  Duh.  Injury #1.

And then four days ago I started having a splitting headache on one side of my head.  Physical issue #2.  The not-so-fun part of this one is that my doctors still have no clue what's going on.

This caused me to take a long, good look at my life recently and figure it out myself.  It's not a pretty picture:  creating too many commitments for myself, getting less than 8 hours of sleep per night, staring at the computer for very long periods of time without taking a break, starting to drink caffeinated tea again, and choosing to ignore my body when it's trying to tell me something.  My self-care report card is definitely a D right now.  No wonder I have a weird headache that my doctor's never heard of. 

What I love about life is that the lessons that we need to learn always arise right in front of us.  I needed a good reminder about taking care of my body and sometimes it takes a swift kick in the behind (or a splitting headache) to make one pay attention.  I'm listening now.

Maybe you're working on taking care of your own body or you're just looking for a tasty meal option.  This salad is it.  This recipe came from  The Conscious Cook: Delicious Meatless Recipes That Will Change The Way You Eat by Tal Ronnen.  I love this cookbook because it has beautiful photographs, loads of great information, and very inspiring recipes. (Including how to make your own vegan cheese.  Amazing!)

At first I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy the miso-potato-green bean combination, but I was definitely impressed.  I'm also not usually a big fan of arugula and I actually thought about substituting spinach instead, but the slight bitterness of the arugula really complements the flavors well.  This is a perfect side salad with dinner and it makes a wonderful light lunch on a rainy spring afternoon.   In the spirit of self-care and listening to my body, I didn't even think twice about having seconds. 

Yields: 4 servings (enough for about 2 people)
From The Conscious Cook: Delicious Meatless Recipes That Will Change The Way You Eat by Tal Ronnen

2 tablespoons yellow miso paste
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
1 1/2 cups baby arugula
8 ounces fingerling potatoes, boiled for 15 minutes, then sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
8 ounces of green beans, blanched in boiling water for 1 minute

Place the miso paste, vinegar, agave, salt, pepper, shalot, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon water in a food processor and pulse to combine.  With the motor running, slowly add the oil in a thin stream until the vinaigrette is emulsified.  Fold in the chives.

Place the arugula, potatoes, and beans in a large bowl, drizzle with the vinaigrette and toss to coat.

Green Bean Salad

It's time to slooow down. Slow down for some fresh, spring air and green beans. I was at the spa recently and sat down for a long lunch. When was the last time you took a "long lunch"? I couldn't remember.

I was so fortunate to be able to slow down for a delicious meal and take the time to nourish my body. When my food was ready, the server brought me two metal chopsticks. They were absolutely beautiful.

I sat there looking at these chopsticks and thinking about how chopsticks inspire me to slow down. To take smaller bites. To chew fully. To breathe. I don't know about you, but I could use more chopsticks and long lunches in my life.

Have I mentioned Cecile Andrews before? If you aren't familiar with her work, she is absolutely amazing. I have been making my way through her book, Slow is Beautiful, for several months now and she is absolutely inspiring. If you are in need of a little nourishment for the soul, sit down with her book and this green bean salad. Don't forget the chopsticks.

Serves 2-4 as a side dish

1/2 pound green beans
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 red onion, sliced
juice from 1/2 lemon
handful of chopped walnuts
handful of sliced almonds
handful of golden raisins
pepper to taste
olive oil

Place the green beans in boiling water for about 4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Slice them in half (lengthwise). Set aside.

Meanwhile, add olive oil to a pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion slices, walnuts, and almonds. Saute for about 2 minutes until nuts are brown and fragrant. Add this to the green beans. Add rice vinegar, lemon juice, a bit more olive oil. Mix and garnish with golden raisins. Sprinkle with pepper to taste.