When I was growing up we always had a garden. Sometimes very big and sometimes very small, but we always had green beans, corn, varieties of tomatoes, egg plant, okra, herbs, and along the borders flowers. My mother used this garden as a way to feed us - both during the summer and all winter - and she used it feed the people who worked for us and our extended family. Growing up we primarily ate what we raised, before that was the in vogue thing to do!
This garden always comes to mind when I make green beans. They were a staple of our garden and picking and snapping beans was something the entire family participated in. I never loved the picking part of raising the green beans. It was tedious work and your back would ache after just a few minutes of work. One year when we had rows and rows of beans, at the end of the season my dad pulled them all up and put them on a tobacco wagon. We "picked" the beans from there and this was probably one of my Dad's smartest ideas - or I thought that at the time. But I think he was as tired as I was and didn't want to bend over any more to pick the beans.
We always raised Roma green beans, or that is what we called them. I don't know what the scientific name is for them - they were Roma to us. In the hottest part of the afternoon, or evenings we would snap the beans together. It was musical - snap, snap, snap, ping into the large stock pot that Mom would cook them in. It was therapeutic - a consistent process that you could see the results. I liked seeing those results - watching the pot fill up as we worked together
We would eat some of these beans, but most of them would be canned for the fall and winter. I have yet to learn to can. Maybe because she didn't want us in her way, or maybe it was actually dangerous (this is what she always said to us) we weren't asked to help with canning from my mother. This is one of my many goals as I learn more and more about my cooking heritage.
She used to make these for our family, and than they became one of the most requested recipes at the winery. Now when I make these for our family gatherings I am always asked for the recipe and sometimes I am embarrassed to give it to people because it is so easy. When she cooked the green beans she didn't cook them in the same way most "southern" cooks cook their green beans. There is no ham hock, or bacon, she uses garlic and olive oil!
Ingredients:
2 large cans green beans
Directions: In a sauce pan poor the olive oil to coat the bottom and put in the garlic. Allow to cook for a few seconds on medium high. After the garlic is cooked but not burnt poor in the cans of green beans. Do not drain the beans because you need this liquid for the beans. Then add salt and pepper to taste - don't be shy with the salt and pepper! Bring the beans up to a boil and turn them to medium and let them bubble away. I usually cook these beans at least 2 hours covered - watching the water level pretty regularly and adding more water if needed. You do have to check on the beans because they easily burn and I have ruined several pots!
This garden always comes to mind when I make green beans. They were a staple of our garden and picking and snapping beans was something the entire family participated in. I never loved the picking part of raising the green beans. It was tedious work and your back would ache after just a few minutes of work. One year when we had rows and rows of beans, at the end of the season my dad pulled them all up and put them on a tobacco wagon. We "picked" the beans from there and this was probably one of my Dad's smartest ideas - or I thought that at the time. But I think he was as tired as I was and didn't want to bend over any more to pick the beans.
We always raised Roma green beans, or that is what we called them. I don't know what the scientific name is for them - they were Roma to us. In the hottest part of the afternoon, or evenings we would snap the beans together. It was musical - snap, snap, snap, ping into the large stock pot that Mom would cook them in. It was therapeutic - a consistent process that you could see the results. I liked seeing those results - watching the pot fill up as we worked together
We would eat some of these beans, but most of them would be canned for the fall and winter. I have yet to learn to can. Maybe because she didn't want us in her way, or maybe it was actually dangerous (this is what she always said to us) we weren't asked to help with canning from my mother. This is one of my many goals as I learn more and more about my cooking heritage.
She used to make these for our family, and than they became one of the most requested recipes at the winery. Now when I make these for our family gatherings I am always asked for the recipe and sometimes I am embarrassed to give it to people because it is so easy. When she cooked the green beans she didn't cook them in the same way most "southern" cooks cook their green beans. There is no ham hock, or bacon, she uses garlic and olive oil!
Ingredients:
2 large cans green beans
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoons of finally minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
water
Directions: In a sauce pan poor the olive oil to coat the bottom and put in the garlic. Allow to cook for a few seconds on medium high. After the garlic is cooked but not burnt poor in the cans of green beans. Do not drain the beans because you need this liquid for the beans. Then add salt and pepper to taste - don't be shy with the salt and pepper! Bring the beans up to a boil and turn them to medium and let them bubble away. I usually cook these beans at least 2 hours covered - watching the water level pretty regularly and adding more water if needed. You do have to check on the beans because they easily burn and I have ruined several pots! 
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