Snake Beans or Yard Long Beans

Snake beans go by a bunch of different names - yard long beans, asparagus beans and Chinese long beans. The most fun name of course if you want to entice the kids, would be "snake beans".

The dried black-eyed pea or bean comes from this fresh bean.

These snake beans were sold in a bunch the size of which was large enough to feed our family of four.

I blanched the snake beans first, then just before dinner I stir fried them. I just looked through my "cookbook" (more on that later) to see if I could find the recipe I used for the stir fry but, not surprisingly, I could not find it. I cut off the tips and weeded out the "bad" looking beans - ones that were too wrinkled or had black spots. I had obviously left these in the fridge too long before using - so who knows how much more wonderful they could have tasted if I had managed my fridge contents a little better.

I think I used garlic, beef stock, soy sauce (which incidentally did you know it is called SOYA sauce in Canada? My dh thought I was always pronouncing soy sauce incorrectly until we found out that it really is called two different things in Canada and the USA), cornstarch, pepper and ??

You of course can cut the snake beans into smaller, more manageable pieces - but don't cut them into too small pieces, or you miss out on the fun! If you don't cut them at all, you may have to throw caution to the wind, break table etiquette - and eat them with your fingers, like french fries.

I really liked the flavor of the snake beans and would definitely buy them again. Seems like the kids liked them about as much as they like "normal" green beans. To me, the flavor was similar to a green bean, but actually better tasting (and better looking!)

Wing Beans

The thing that drew me mostly to this unique bean is of course how cute it looked.

The beans are kind of squarish in shape - with fancy edges - frilly. It's not a surprise that they are also called "princess beans".

I put about 1/2 cup a water to boil on the stove and then threw in the beans and sort of boiled/steamed them for about 10 minutes. I was surprised that the water turned quite green.

My dd thought the beans tasted like regular green beans except they were very bitter...the boy agreed and I have to say that's what I thought also.

I ended up throwing them in a frying pan along with some regular green beans and added some minced garlic, soy sauce and some kind of Asian vinegar and freshly ground red pepper. A bit spicy - but very tasty. Since the beans were so much thicker than regular beans, I cut them in half and then sliced them thinner.

Works For Me Wednesday - What Do I Fix Edition

Rock's in My Dryer is featuring a "What Do I Fix Edition" of "Works For Me Wednesday". It's almost supper time and you need to fix something quick and with ingredients on hand (which does not include bread - so no sandwiches).

I think most of my daily supper meals could fit into the above. I do usually have a large store of canned goods on hand - and my freezer does usually contain some form of leftovers or browned ground beef/cooked chicken that I can add to anything at the last minute.

One fast great recipe I came across a couple of years ago is Simple, Spicy Black Bean Soup. As a bonus, it is healthy and almost fat-free.

Simple Spicy Black Bean Soup

2 15 1/2-ounce cans black beans (rinsed)
1 c salsa (whatever kind you have on hand - I like Aldi's Mexican salsa)
2 c canned chicken broth
salt/pepper if needed

Cook on medium heat for about 15 min and you are done!

Hopefully you have some crackers & cheese that you could have as a side dish. Or just slice up some fresh fruit.