Without them, civic club luncheons would cease, restaurant lunch buffets would close, and Sunday dinners would end.
Green beans.
How could one run a restaurant or home kitchen without them? They’re on almost every menu involving vegetables, on every supermarket vegetable counter and a favorite crop for home gardeners.
They should be because green beans taste good, are good for you and are available fresh almost year round. Cooked without butter, shortening, etc., they are a dieter’s friend, one cup providing only 15 calories. This one cup will provide 11 percent of the daily requirement for manganese, 13.8 percent of vitamin A, 18 percent of vitamin K, and 20 percent of the vitamin C your body needs.
One source says that 60 percent of all commercial green beans sold in the U.S. are grown in this country, so you’ll be helping the economy if you eat more green beans. If they aren’t on the fresh vegetable counter, they will be in the frozen food section or with the canned vegetables.
There are many ways to prepare green beans. In addition to gentle boiling, the beans can be pickled, sautéd, added to soups, salads, etc. Good cooks of other years slowly boiled them for a couple of hours with a ham hock or piece of salt pork. More modern cooks decrease the time to about 20 minutes, seasoning them with canola or other oil, butter or margarine.
Today’s recipe does the latter.
Although no longer active at Providence Baptist Church in Pageland, Shannon Parker contributed this recipe to their cookbook published in 2004. Organized in 1894, the church has a large membership of 400 or so and ranges from 200-250 in active members. It is currently being served by an interim pastor, Rev. Ernest Winburn, and is a member of the Chesterfield Baptist Association. It has a full range of Baptist organizations and mission work.
Unlike many recipes that read “serves 6,” this is a good one for one or two people. It can be doubled or tripled easily if more servings are needed, comes together quickly, and is made from ingredients you may already have in your pantry or freezer. It is also compatible with pork, beef, chicken or fish. One can use an equal amount of fresh green beans, broken into one-inch pieces or cut into lengthwise slivers as the French do, and cooked until tender, 30 minutes or so.
Make this dish Sunday morning. Ask the preacher and his family to come home with you, and you’ll have a great dish waiting for all of you to enjoy after you warm it quickly for … Sunday Dinner.
Fancy Green Beans
(Contributed by Shannon Parker to a cookbook published by Providence Baptist Church, Pageland)
1 9-ounce package frozen French-style green beans
1 5-ounce jar sliced mushrooms, drained
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
¼ teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
¼ teaspoon dried basil
¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted
Cook green beans according to package directions; drain. Add mushrooms and keep warm over low heat.
Combine butter, rosemary and basil. Drizzle over bean mixture, toss to coat. Sprinkle with almonds. Serves 2.