I <3 Green Beans

I really do. I bought them nearly every week during the summer, and then they disappeared for a while from the market. And then they returned, and I rejoiced. Sadly, I doubt that they are locally grown. They're also not as sweet and tender as the summer ones. Just as inexpensive though -- I don't understand it, but I'll take 3 pounds.

I was going to roast them, but decided instead that I wanted to braise them. However, I didn't want to cook them for 3 hours. I stumbled across this recipe, and felt that it had promise. Here's my version:

2 T oil
8 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 inch fresh gingerroot, minced (probably a little less than 1 T)
1/2 c water (plus a little more if necessary, see recipe)
1.5 T soy sauce
1 t balsamic vinegar
1 lb trimmed green beans

2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

pepper to taste

In a frying pan with a lid, heat the oil on medium-high. Saute garlic, onion, and ginger, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned. Add remaining ingredients, stir, and cover. Lower heat to medium-low (liquid should be simmering). Stir every 5 minutes, and add a couple of tablespoons of water if pan becomes dry. Cook 20-25 minutes; vegetables will be very soft. Add lots of pepper, and adjust seasonings as necessary -- I sprinkled a little extra vinegar and soy sauce on mine, and you'll probably need more if you serve this over rice or noodles. I'm almost definitely going to make this again; I think that it would be great with some cubes of tofu added with the veggies...and maybe some broccoli, a little bit of minced red chili pepper, bamboo shoots...

I loved the simplicity of this, but now I'm getting carried away with possibilities. Ah well, the more the merrier :)