The Magical Fruit

I haven't done a "food" post in a LONG time. And you may be surprised to learn that I've staged my "comeback" with beans.

That's right.

Beans.

You know, the magical fruit? (actually I don't think green beans are the kind that make you toot....but I'm still just juvenile enough to think that's funny.)

Regardless...

Not kidding. These beans are yummy enough to spearhead a return to yummy blogging!

They are also part of my personal plan of trying to cook more without recipes.

I'm a baking gal. I love recipes. I'm not a great cook necessarily. I can perfect something, over time. But I definitely don't trust my knowledge of foods enough to cook the way they do on the 'Ol Food Network.

I mean, seriously. How does a person go into a room with 3 ingredients and come up with something yummy? I think that's amazing! I guess it's good that we're all born with different talents. Right?

Anyway, in conjunction with trying to make up my own "recipes", I'd like to share one that turned out REALLY WELL....

Meet my yummy green beans.

It starts with....hmmmmm....green beans.
Fresh ones are the best.
Frozen, also amazing.
Canned? Nope.

The "recipe" is all adjustable depending on how much you want to make. You can make A TON or just enough for you.



Secondly, you need another of my favorite ingredients. Onion. I like red onion, but a white or yellow one would be fine.

Start by boiling your water and throwing your beans in. You only want to cook them about 5-7 minutes. You want them to maintain a little crunch.

Dice your onion. And while the beans are boiling...warm up a skillet on another burner. When it's warm put in about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. (less is more) Throw in your onions and toss until translucent.




About the time the onions are done, your beans should be ready. Drain them and throw them in your skillet.

Add a little more olive oil. But you don't want too much. Oily is not yummy.

Toss it all around for a couple minutes, while the beans continue to cook.

Add salt and pepper to taste.
And I also like to add a dash of Lemon or Lime juice. Just a bit though.




Then it's time to add the secret ingredient. This is what makes the beans YUMMY!

I am mounting a campaign to proclaim Balsamic Vinegar genius and beyond compare....who's with me?

I love it. But even though I love it...you still don't want a lot. It's really powerful. Just enough to give a good flavor. (it depends on your taste, and how many beans you're making...don't be afraid to experiment!)

After you've cooked down the balsamic a bit, your beans CAN be done. I really like them like this. And they're actually pretty healthy.

But if you want them to be AMAZING....you can add bacon. I like to use the pre-cooked bacon and just pop it in the beans. (That's because I'm lazy, and I like things to be super easy!)

Can I just express how hard it is to make a photograph of cooked green beans look as good as they taste??

Just take my word for it. These beans make the BEST side dish. Great with your "end of summer" burgers. Or a way to use your harvest. We buy giant bags of the frozen beans and have them on hand always.

All you need is a good appetite! Eat up!