Monday, June 13, 2011

Recipe ~ Garden Inspired......



For two weeks now I have been anxious to plant a garden here at my moms. We finally had it tilled last week so my excuses were running out and no longer seemed justified.


On top of things to do we celebrated my mom's birthday this last weekend. My sister-in-law made this "garden pudding pie" knowing how much my mom appreciates veggies. Little did she know that it was all I needed to get my lazy butt out back and plant my garden.




Ave had to contribute........








Because no garden should be without a white pumpkin.




As I was working up a good sweat, I was also dreaming up all my favorite fresh veggie recipes, all the canning I want to do, and the convenience of picking right from my backyard. Leaving my garden with all these ideas left me hungry and convinced that I didn't need to wait til' the end of summer to enjoy my long thought-out recipes. 






This "Green bean salad" is so fresh in flavor, perfect to pair with any main dish, and Totally easy.








Fresh Green Bean Salad 


1 pound fresh green beans, stems removed 
and cut in 2 inch pieces
1 Tb Kosher salt
1 garlic clove, whole
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 Tb capers
1 Tb extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp lemon zest
2 Tb fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper


Directions


In a medium size pot bring 2 quarts water to boil. Add 1 Tb kosher salt, whole garlic clove, and green beans. Boil for 3-4 minutes and put directly into large bowl of ice water. Pull out garlic clove, cut in half, and mince 1/2 of the clove. (discard the other piece unless you really want it garlicky) 


Drain green beans, and put in a medium size serving bowl and add the minced garlic along with the other 5 ingredients. Season to your liking with salt and pepper and toss to coat all the beans. Serve right away or chill in fridge until ready to serve.








Enjoy!





11 comments:

  1. Awww, I miss that little gardener! School's out for us...we need a playdate! Let's set a time when I see you Thursday!

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  2. First and foremost I wanted to that you for your kind comment on my blog.

    It looks like your going to have a pretty decent sized garden! This year I planted my first garden and I am so excited to see the result and do some canning too!

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  3. Yummy green beans! I can't wait to buy some fresh ones and give these a shot. Wish I had enough sun and space in our yard to grow my own! Love that you planted white pumpkins...I can't wait to see your harvest. AND your SIL's dessert is WAY cool! Happy birthday to your mom, Ang :)

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  4. @Annie's Dish Annie you'll have to show us picks on your blog of the progress. A garden is so rewarding...

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  5. I just adore that garden cake!! I only planted last weekend as well, with thoughts of fresh garden veggies in my head! The salad looks so fresh and colourful. I love that green! Happy gardening!

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  6. Congrats on the garden!! I have tomatoes planted, but they are not thriving... zucchini goes in soon.
    Love the green bean salad! I've not purchased green beans at the market yet this year, but I do enjoy them.
    Love the pumpkin!! We planted one when my kids were little and carved their names into them with a nail when the pumpkins were little, months later the carving showed up in the finished product! They still remember it. I might have to do that again!

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  7. @Kim - Liv LifeI love that pumpkin idea Kim!....If they even come up. Ave had no assistance in planting those suckers:)

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  8. Love, love, love green bean salad. Also, love your sister in law's garden pudding pie. So cute!! Y'all have a pretty big garden. You should see my tiny little one! haha

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  9. @The Country CookAny kind of garden Brandie is a wonderful thing....no matter how small it is. :) Good luck!!!

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  10. This sounds fantastic and it looks beautiful too! There's nothing like fresh green beans in the summer time. I'm looking forward to trying this. Congratulations on your garden! You're going to love it. I hope you get a bumper crop of the white pumpkins too. They are so pretty. :)

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