Garden Fresh Beans

A while back I picked my first crop of beans in the city, Kentucky Blue Bush to be exact; a whole grocery bag full of them, and I made a wonderful side dish with bacon, pictured below.  Then the garden at the Homestead exploded.  Look at the beautiful heirloom beans above that came from Spring City; they are the Royal burgundy and Scarlet Runner varieties that I planted in the kitchen garden.  I love the purple color on the Royal Burgundy against the scarlet runner bean (only the blossoms on this climbing bean are scarlet red; the beans are green as you can see below).

 The purple color totally cooks out and what you get is plain green beans but they are so pretty on the vine and in the garden, with their violet blossoms.  Even if you just blanch them slightly they still turn green. That's OK, because they taste great. I blanched them, sauteed some minced red onion, threw some cherry tomatoes into the pan just until they popped and splashed them all with some balsamic vinegar.

They were terrific.  The problem is...I have an abundance of beans, even after sharing with friends.  I have blanched, frozen, steamed, and sauteed beans.  I need to get preserving, but my family is not a fan of canned bean or bottled beans, even the home-canned ones.

    But something has to be done.  The two gardens are bursting at the seams with beans.   Try this great recipe below and then let me know what you are doing with your garden beans.  I need help!!!

 Garden Green Beans with Shallots and Bacon

1 pound of green beans, trimmed

1/2 cup of minced shallot (about 1 large shallot), or red onion

2 slices of bacon, chopped finely

Wash, trim, and diagonally slice the beans into pieces.  Blanch them in boiling water for 3 minutes until the beans are just tender and cooked (or steam them in the microwave).  Set aside.

In a large sauce pan or skillet, slowly render the fat from the bacon pieces.  Cook until the bacon is crisp and all the fat is rendered.  Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the shallots to the bacon fat in the pan, and saute' until the shallots are translucent.  Add the beans to the shallots, and cook until the beans are heated through and the desired texture.  Put the bacon pieces back into the pan and toss all ingredients well.  Season with freshly ground pepper and kosher salt if needed.  Don't add any salt until the end because the bacon is salty.

Serve.

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