Green Beans and Red Peppers - Weekend Recipe

No, I am not rushing Christmas, I just thought since the garden is still producing for a few more weeks this would be a great recipe to use some of that bounty!

Green Bean  and Red Pepper Salad

1 lb. green beans, steamed

1 large red pepper, thinly sliced

½ cup olive oil

3 Tbls. lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon balm  (or lemon verbena)

½ tsp. dry mustard

½ tsp. paprika

½ tsp. granulated onion

Place beans and peppers in a serving dish.  In a separate bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, lemon herbs, mustard, paprika and salt.  Toss with beans and peppers.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

Weekend Recipe - Green Beans with Olives & Dill

Our local Farmer’s Market is every Wednesday.  My husband and I stop on our way to work.  This week there was an olive vender and some great Green Beans.  Combining that with Dill from my garden and I came up with this great recipe for you to enjoy.  Dill’s affinity for beans is obvious in this simple side dish.  I love butter on my vegetables, but have been trying to cook with heart friendly ingredients this year, so I switched to olive oil.  This recipe uses the best of the garden and lots of heart healthy oils.

Green beans, Olives & Dill

• 1 pound young green beans
• 2 tablespoons minced Kalamata or ­Moroccan oil-cured olives
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill weed
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh chives

Rinse and trim the beans. Place a pot of water and the stove and bring to boiling.  Add the beans to the boiling water and cook 3 minutes, or until barely tender. Drain immediately and toss with the remaining ingredients.  Serve warm or cold.

Weekend Recipe - Dilled Mustard Green Beans

The beans are starting to be available at the farmer’s market and I am so excited!  I love green beans I could eat them with every meal.  My husband does most of our cooking (it’s his hobby.)  He is very skilled at main dishes and sauces of every kind.  Vegetable dishes are not his forte. So I get to make those and this is one of my favorite when the green beans are fresh.  You can substitute plain cider vinegar for the herbal vinegar but the subtle flavors and sweetness of tarragon vinegar really imparts an exotic French feel to this sauce.

Dilled Mustard Green Beans

Sauce:

½ cup Dijon mustard

2 Tbls. dry mustard

¼ cup tarragon herbal vinegar

1/3 canola oil

¼ cup chopped fresh dill (or 1 Tbls. dried)

1 lb. fresh green beans.

Mix the sauce ingredients and allow to marinade in refrigerator several hours before serving.  When ready to have a meal, blanch and steam the green beans until crisp tender.  You can also wrap them in foil with 1/4 to 1/3 cup of water and allow to steam on the grill for about 3 to 5 minutes.  Just before serving, pour sauce over green beans.

This sauce is also great on asparagus, carrots, chicken and fish.