Sunday, June 8, 2014

Half Runner Bean Conversations

white half runner beans

What could be better than getting your food at the local farmer's market. That's what we did Saturday. We found tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, garlic, romaine lettuce, red Swiss chard, and more. We also found out we can visit some of the local farms to see how they grow their produce. 

The beans above are white half runner beans; a favorite of the Southern mountains. I spent some time snapping and peeling the strings from the beans. Later I sauteed some onion, garlic, and red peppers, then I added the beans and about a cup of water and cooked them till they were soft but mot mushy. Here are a few more items we got at the farmer's market.

 apricots and peaches

 tomatoes and white paddy pan squash


It takes time to string beans and that's when conversations transpire. Gary and I sat at the kitchen table while I was stringing the beans and he was looking at the computer but much of the time we were talking about this and that. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

15 comments:

  1. I planted, hoed, watered, picked and broke, and ate so many half runners as a kid I can barely look at them.If I close my eyes they still taste good !

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  2. I love pattypan squash. We had some in our CSA a couple of summer ago - I stuffed and baked them, yum! Enjoy your bounty.

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  3. Sounds like a great recipe! I should add more fresh fruits and veggies to my diet. Thanks for the reminder.

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  4. Hi Dennis, thanks, Gary said they were the best beans he's ever had.

    Hi Michele, thanks, oh that sounds like a good way to make this squash, perhaps tonight.

    Hi Gigi, thanks, I have been trying to add more fruits and vegetables to my diet too and the produce at the farmer's market is so ripe and different varieties than I can get at the grocery so it is easy to eat more of them.

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  5. Green/white beans are so wonderful...and the prep for fresh produce is well worth it! Glad your local farms are turning out such bounty already. Our Tailgate was pretty well stocked yesterday too!

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  6. I have wonderful memories of "the women" chatting on the porch, stringing beans or shelling peas. My own girls and I sat around the picnic table, stripping elderberries. Now my granddaughters are the bean stringers and snappers! Hooray for fresh produce.

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  7. I love green beans and Squash. I love summer when all the good stuff is ready to eat.

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  8. You know Linda, I grew up in New Orleans in the late 40's, 50's, and 60's. Mama was a city girl and we ate very little *fresh* anything... it was all mostly canned or frozen. However, I spent my summers on my uncle's farm in Mississippi and there I became acquainted with *fresh* veggies. I love fresh veggies! The taste is so different and so good, it's amazing. Not that mama wasn't a good cook. She could make the best oyster pie, oyster stew, and oyster paddies ever! (and the funny thing here is that I learned from her... when it comes to seafood, always buy "fresh"...

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  9. Farmers' markets rock. Next best thing to growing your own. And they taste sooooo different to the 'same' product from a store.

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  10. Yum! Love green beans. Those look so good. It is nice amd relaxing to have a conversation while stringing beans. Farmer's Markets are the best!

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  11. We are so lucky to have a weekly farmer's market in my neighborhood. Now you have me wanting to get some beans from there this week.

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  12. Hi Barbara, thanks, we are so glad the market is so close to us.

    Hi Joanne, thanks, what a good time to spend quality time for children and adults, wondering about the elderberries.

    Hi Meredith, thanks, I love it all, apparently they had even more but we didn't get to the market early enough, next time.

    Hi Rian, thanks, we had a lot of canned vegetables when I was young but I'm making up for it now and I do love fresh fish; we got another freezer full on this trip to Florida.

    Hi Elephant's child, thanks, I do miss my own vegetable patch but we have so many other projects going that we'll have to be content to let others do the growing for us.

    Hi Charlene, thanks, oh I forgot to mention that I put a couple of tablespoons full of olive oil in the beans too which made the flavors all meld together.

    Hi Lori, thanks, these beans were unfamiliar to me and I was afraid by the look of them that they'd be tough but that was not the case, they were delicious.

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  13. Wish I could reach through the screen...I would have me some of those peaches. :)

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  14. Wish I could reach through the screen...I would have me some of those peaches. :)

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  15. Hi Dee, thanks, oh most peaches, if ripe, are so delicious.

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I love suggestions, questions, critiques, thanks for your comment