beans with onions

various dates

Podded aka garden beans can provide an abundant harvest with relatively little effort compared to some other vegetables. The effort comes when the beans start producing. The young bean pods need to be harvested frequently, at least twice a week. The pods get chewy if the beans get too big. Cleaning the beans—cutting off the ends and pulling the string—is the most tedious chore of all.

A. garden beans with onions and vinegar

2014-09-27 a.o.

Blue Lake is a large-pod bean variety that grows and produces well here in the NM desert, as long as it is watered regularly. I prefer the pole variety. That way I can still grow other things on the ground. The bush varieties never did very well in my garden. 

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 2 servings:

  • 1 lb. fresh garden beans
  • 1 medium onion, chopped small
  • S&P
  • vinegar

optional:

  • flour
Pic1: Blue Lake garden beans

Directions

 

Pic2: blue lake beans
Pic3: cleaned
Pic4: stewing

canned beans with onions and cheese

2014-10-13 a.o.

If processed correctly with a pressure canner and stored in a dark cool location, canned beans can keep for  several years without refrigeration. The big advantage of canning vegetables is that when it is time to eat, all the work has already been done. No cleaning and boiling beans here. Just pour and stew.

Canned beans are also very nice in cold vegetable salads.

Freezing beans after blanching works well too, but those still need to be cooked.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 2 servings:

  • 1 lb. garden beans
  • 1 medium onion, chopped coarse
  • olive oil
  • S&P

optional:

  • 6 oz. straw mushrooms
  • 4 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
Pic5: canned beans

Directions

 

Pic6: simmering with cheese
Pic7: served
Pic8: enjoy

yard-long beans with onions and cheese

2014-09-01 a.o.

Yard-long beans are a drought-tolerant variety that produce 3-ft.-long pod, although they taste better when picked at less than 1 ft. length. Their yield is abundant while other garden beans shrivel and die. Pick them young when they’re about 10” long and still crisp before they start puffing up.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 2 servings:

  • 1 lb. yard-long garden beans
  • ½ onion, chopped coarse
  • hard salami, 5 slices, chopped
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • S&P

optional:

  • vinegar
  • flour
Pic9: yard-long beans, rice, steak
2014-09-01

Directions

2017-01-09 

Pic10: yard-long beans and a few butter beans
Pic11: stewing
Pic12: served with duck

2020-08-06

Pic18-20: onions, beans