Category Archives: fresh legumes

Simple Cranberry Bean and Arugula Salad

Cranberry beans and arugula from Farmer Dave’s

Suman will be back for our two final market days, but this week Wendy came up with an easy salad that Greg prepared, adding his own twist (lemon juice and garlic) for the dressing.

There really isn’t a set recipe for this.  Just shuck as many beans as you need, (see below for pounds to cups shucked) cover with cold water, bring to a boil and cook 20-25 minutes or until tender. In the meantime, rinse, dry, and roughly chop the greens or your choice, (we used arugula for its peppery bite) perhaps to make one or so cups lightly packed greens to 1 cup shucked beans, and then use your imagination to create a dressing or just grab your favorite prepared brand. Greg opted for lightly sautéing some minced garlic, and combining it, oil and all, with some additional olive oil and lemon juice, along with a touch of salt and ground black pepper. It was quite tasty!

Cranberry beans also do well in stir fry dishes and are especially suitable for soups. Read on for a bit more about this versatile legume.

About Cranberry Beans
Also known as borlotti, pink-flecked cranberry beans are available fresh in the late summer and fall. Creamy and flavorful, they’re delicious in soups or stews or can be tossed with olive oil and herbs for a simple side dish (though they lose their gorgeous coloring once cooked).

How to Store: Fresh, unshelled cranberry beans can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for three to four days

How to Cook: Fresh cranberry beans are very easy to shuck. One pound of beans in the pod yields about 1 1/3 cups shucked beans, or enough for about two to three people. To cook, shell the beans and put them in a medium saucepan. Cover with cold water, bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Courtesy of the James Beard Foundation

Potato and Bean Salad with Red Onion and Dill Vinaigrette

This week Suman created a perfect make right before the meal or make ahead potato salad that had green and yellow beans for color, texture and added nutritional value that can be served warm or at room temperature. The onion and dill vinaigrette pulls the flavors all together.

Click the photo or HERE for the recipe.

Recipe from September 24, 2016: Green and Wax Bean Sauté with Bok Choy and Red Bell Pepper

ingredientsIn late July, I highlighted green beans in a simple sauté with garlic, so this time, when I learned that green and wax beans were in abundance this past week, I decided to go with them but forgo garlic and find another way to highlight this tasty and versatile vegetable.

I cooked up a batch of beans at home, using onion as the base flavor and adding bok choy and red pepper to give variety. To be honest, I had come across a green/wax bean dish that included celery, but our famers don’t typically have celery available, so I researched celery substitutes and discovered that bok choy can work in this capacity. And it certainly did, and the red pepper added a nice contrast of flavor and color. But, upon serving it for dinner, my husband commented that the rosemary in our mashed potatoes complimented the dish and I immediately thought of the rosemary-based Cluck Yeah seasoning from Bondat Foods. I sprinkled some on my serving and knew we had a winner. But, if you do make this and don’t have Cluck Yeah on hand, it will still be quite tasty with just a dash of salt and pepper or with the seasonings of your choice.

beansGreen and Wax Bean Sauté

  • 3-4 Tbsp oil and/or butter
  • 3/4-1 lb green/wax beans
    (parboiled if desired*)
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup chopped bok choy
  • 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
  • 1 tsp+ Cluck Yeah seasoning from
    Bondat Foods**

Heat oil and cook onions on low until soft, add the rest of the veggies and cook until tender. Stir in seasoning, cook for another minute, then serve.

*You can parboil or quickly steam the beans if you don’t want any crunch to them.

** Or seasoning of your choice

NOTE: Amounts are just guidelines!

green-and-wax-beans-9-2016

Recipes from July 25, 2016 : Kousa “Pasta” and Peas and Simple Kousa Saute

June 25 demo food

Ingredients for both dishes of the day

Kousa “Pasta” and Peas

For the first dish of the day, I simply grated unpeeled, raw kousa squash that I got from Farmer Dave’s (you can substitute any summer/zucchini squash from Farmer Dave’s, Kelly’s Farm, of Flats Mentor Farm) using long strokes on the largest hole side of a box grater. You can prepare as much as you want, but I grated 3 or so cups into a big bowl.

Beforehand, Heather and I had shelled some peas from Farmer Dave’s; I  simmered about 1/2 – 2/3 cup of the shelled peas for three minutes in about an inch of water to bring out the sweetness (rather than add them raw) while I grated the kousa.

Next I added the simmered peas to the grated kousa and then portioned them for sampling, adding a small bit of alfredo sauce to garnish.  I had purchased the sauce at the grocery store the day before, forgetting that I could have used Deano’s Pasta’s wonderful sauces such as their new Onesto Cream Sauce, or, one of the tasty dips or sauces from Samira’s Hommade would have worked nicely as well.

I never did get a photo of this dish, but folks sure liked it!

Simple Kousa Saute

stir fryAfter heating about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan, I added about 3/4 cup of sliced/chopped green onion from Kelly’s Farm, using the white and some of the green stem, and cooked until a bit soft.

Then I added about 3-4  cups of 1 inch chunks of kousa, and tossed in the rest of the raw peas when I realized they had not all gotten cooked for the previous dish. See above.

After a good number of turns of the pepper mill into the mix, I chopped a tomato into just bigger than dice size and added them, then seasoned it all with about a two teaspoons dried basil (I remembered afterwards that fresh basil was available – next time!) and a few pinches of salt. Once the tomatoes were heated through, I turned off the heat and served. Yum!