Growing vegetables in your backyard (or side of the house in my case) is kind of a funny thing. I started a garden so I could cook “farm” fresh veggies in my kitchen. The funny part comes in because once I started my garden; I was too exhausted to cook in the kitchen. (I’ll leave out the part where I have to get my husband to bring home a pizza for dinner.)
This spring I went a little bonkers and decided that my garden needed to be expanded. The expansion has been great but it has been a lot of work. There is a learning curve to figuring out how much to water, soil nutrients and sun exposure.
My new garden will have more tomatoes, tons of tomatillos, cucumbers, hot peppers, fennel and green beans. I did plant some other veggies but a little bunny named Baby Chubbs made them his dinner. (Baby Chubbs may be making more appearances in Felt Like a Foodie if he keeps up his antics.)
Besides Baby Chubbs, our neighborhood has had an influx of deer visiting gardens. They wreak havoc with their bad deer manners and clomp over gardens eating everything in sight!
Luckily the deer (they have not shared their names) have respected Baby Chubb’s territory and have stayed away from my garden. (Baby Chubb’s looks very sweet and innocent but you don’t want to piss him off.)
I went out the other day and picked my first real crop, a pound of green beans. I was thrilled that this gal with her off-green thumb actually was able to grow these beautiful, green legumes.
The bad part is that I was really too tired to do anything super crazy gourmet with them but I did want to enjoy their freshness. So for my first batch, I went simple. I just roasted them and served them on the side with some rabbit! (Just kidding, it was venison!)
Roasted Green Beans
Ingredients
1 pound green beans
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon of red wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Trim the ends of the green beans and add to a large bowl. (I left some of the ends on because I like the little stems.)
Toss with olive oil and vinegar and spread out evenly on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Give them a twirl or two of salt and pepper.
Roast for about 12 minutes, stir at the halfway point. You should have some light brown spots on the beans and they should shrivel a bit.
I also like these tossed with toasted almonds or pine nuts.
The summer rain mixed with some crazy hot days has allowed my garden to grow quickly. I am looking forward cooking with freshly picked produce and my time hanging with Baby Chubbs.
