Raspberries and Beans: The Magical Fruits

I will admit to having been a bit hasty recently when crying about my poor raspberry crop. I was doing the opposite of “counting my chickens before they hatched”. I’m not sure what you call that, but I was seriously wrong. There are sections where the canes are dying earlier than usual (where the emitters were plugged last summer), but the other areas are making up for that deficiency. There are now more than enough packages of raspberries in my freezer to see us through until next year’s crop. Plus we are eating fresh ones daily. Several friends and acquaintances, including both the women’s and men’s golf leagues, will get to enjoy my harvest.

Besides having the raspberries that need daily picking (I do half one day and the other half the next - those take all morning), I also have lots of green beans. At least they only need picking two or three times a week, and I don’t have nearly as many bean plants as raspberry canes. Since I don’t want to can any beans this summer, I’ve been searching for (and finding) recipes for fresh green bean dishes.

I really like this one and will make it again. I used my regular green beans.

Green Beans with Salumi Vinaigrette

1 clove garlic, minced or pressed

2 oz Salumi

1/4 C red wine vinegar

1 1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp ground coriander

4 Tbl olive oil

2 Tbl water

Kosher salt, to taste

1 lb green beans

2 Tbl olive oil

Blend the first nine ingredients together, adding the oil and water last. Cook the beans in oil in a large skillet, over medium heat, until browned in spots, about 10-12 minutes. Add 1-2 Tbl of the vinaigrette and toss to coat.

I happened to find some salami in my freezer when defrosting and sorting through my big upright freezer in order to make room for the freezing of berries. It’s kind of amazing the things I find in there - bits of leftovers and mystery packages that at the time I didn’t think I needed to label because I meant to use them soon after storing them. Anyway, I do think the salami is optional. You could substitute diced ham or pepperoni slices or even crumbled bacon if you feel meat is necessary. I also think the vinaigrette would work as well with steamed broccoli or Brussels sprouts. (I’ll also confess here that I didn’t read the instructions well, and used all the vinaigrette at once. I may have had more than a pound of beans cooked, so it worked out just fine.)

In addition to the regular green beans, I’m also growing Roma beans. They produce a wider, flatter bean, that I find to be very tender, even when a bit oversized. I used those beans in this recipe.

Citrus Carrot Bean Salad

2 Tbl olive oil

1 1/2 C shredded carrots

1 shallot, chopped

1 # green and/or wax beans, trimmed and blanched

1 lemon, zested and juiced

In a large skillet, heat oil for 30 seconds, then add the carrot and shallot. Cook one minute, or until shallots are soft. Add the beans and cook two minutes, or until tender. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon zest. Toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

This worked well on several levels, utilizing both my home-grown carrots and my shallots. I didn’t blanch the beans first, so ended up cooking them longer than the called for two minutes, but I still left them a bit on the crunchy side. I also used about a teaspoon of the zest, and squeezed in the juice from half the lemon. (I used the other half the lemon to make myself a glass of fresh lemonade. I just use half a lemon and 3-4 teaspoons of sugar in an oversized glass with ice water.)

Last Sunday we ran into friends from the Lustre area as we were leaving Eugene’s and they were arriving. The mister razzed me a little about this column. Apparently he’s missed all my baking recipes, expressing surprise that we were heading out to get a pan of caramel rolls from a friend to whom I’d given raspberries. He also wanted to know what my husband was up to as I very rarely mention him. I said of course I didn’t as my writing is about my gardening. Dennis chimed in with how his “gardening” is on too large a scale for me. And of course it is, plus he only grows the one crop! I grow several, having heard that “man cannot live by bread alone”.