The Great Bean Harvest

by Shirley Lindsey

At this time of the season there should be lots of green beans in the garden, providing there has been adequate rain. Many people prepare green snap beans by steaming or boiling them. They need very little cooking if they are picked at the right time. Green beans are called ‘snap’ beans and you can tell when they are ready by breaking one. You should hear a snap. Also the color will be a nice bright green, and when you break it, you should see moisture in the green pod. It is important to keep them picked as they are ready for harvest. My friend, Dick, says that you can pick green beans until frost from the same plant, if you keep them picked. I have not tried this, but for some of us, it would mean that you need only a few plants to keep us in green beans for the whole summer.

As with many vegetables, you may get tired of beans, if you don’t use them in a variety of recipes. I am not fond of the flavor of raw beans, but some people use them in salads. They can also be pickled. My family only recognizes dill pickles, so ‘Dilly Beans’ are a great favorite, and very easy to prepare. You can grow the dill to use in these pickles. It also makes a nice ferny addition to cut flower arrangements.
Dill-Pickled Green Beans
2 pounds green beans
4 cloves garlic, peeled
8 sprigs fresh dill weed
4 tsp. salt
2 ½ cups white vinegar
2 ½ cups water
Wash & trim green beans. Cook until crisp-tender. Immediately chill & drain. Pack beans into 4 hot, sterilized pint jars. Place 1 clove garlic & 2 sprigs dill weed in each jar. Add 1 tsp. Salt to each jar. Combine vinegar & water & bring to a boil. Pour over beans to cover. Fit jars with sterilized lids & rings and process for 10 minutes in boiling water bath. Makes 4 pints.
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Another delicious way to use some of your green beans is in the following salad. I especially love it because everything except the tomatoes, lemon juice, pepper, and Feta cheese can come from your own garden:

Green Bean Salad with Tomatoes & Feta Cheese
1 pound green beans
2 medium tomatoes, cubed
1 small onion, minced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. minced parsley
Ground pepper to taste
2 oz. Feta cheese, crumbled
Cook & cool beans. Combine tomatoes, onion, oil, lemon juice, parsley & pepper. Toss together with beans. Add crumbled cheese.
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Here is a recipe for you vegetarians out there. I make this in the winter, but in summer you can use your garden green beans instead of canned beans. We do not can vegetables as much as we used to, but always have canned tomatoes, tomato juice cocktail, and salsa. I use my own home canned tomatoes in the following recipe:

Cheddar, Rice & Bean Casserole
1 cup rice
2 Tbsp. oil
1 onion, diced
1 qt. tomatoes
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 can (or about 2 cups) green beans
Cook rice. Saute onion in oil. Cook onion together with tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper. Set aside 1/4 cup of tomato mixture. Combine in the following order: 1/3 of rice, kidney beans, ½ of cheese, 1/3 of rice, tomato mixture, green beans, 1/3 of rice, ½ of cheese, 1/4 cup tomato mixture. Cover and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

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You can use this last recipe with dried lima beans if you have grown them, or it can be used with any dried bean. Please note that this may not be on anybody’s diet. It’s only redeeming feature is that it is delicious. I usually only make it for picnics, so we can spread the calories around:

Baked Lima Beans
1 pound dried lima beans
3/4 cup brown sugar
½ cup butter
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. dry mustard
1 Tbsp. Karo syrup
1 cup sour cream
Soak beans overnight. Drain. Cook until almost tender. Drain & rinse. Mix all ingredients. Bake at 300 for about 2 hours.

There are so many ways to use beans in the diet that they could fill a book. One reason I like to use them, especially green beans in season, is that they are very nutritious as well as tasty. If you have children, who turn up their noses at green vegetables, involve them in the growing process. It is amazing how being a part of the gardening - planting, caring for, harvesting - can change attitudes. If you don’t have space for a garden in the ground, put some seeds in a couple of large pots. The bean seeds are large of course, and sprout quite readily. If they are near the back door where children can see the progress, they will be even more excited about it.

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