Growing up I watched the old tv show, The Waltons, and was imediately taken by Livvy sitting at the large kitchen table or Grandma, sitting on the porch trimming fresh green beans and talking about whatever was on their minds. As it was supposed to, it evoked a sense of home, family and warmth that we all wanted to replicate. While my childhood was a time of the “miracle” of frozen vegetables, I remember nagging my mother until she bought fresh green beans in season. I have never looked back and will only buy fresh green beans whether at the grocery store or at the farmer’s market. To this day, one of my favorite things to do in the kitchen is to take a crisp, fresh green bean and to snap off the stem end.

These green beans are easy to make and can be enjoyed hot or at room temperature. A pound should feed 4 people, but my husband and I finished them off ourselves.

Green Beans

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 pound crisp, fresh green beans

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise

1 rounded teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 to 1 teaspoon Kosher salt (or sea salt)

cracked black pepper (about 10 grinds)

2 teaspoons EVOO

Directions

1. Trim the green beans by snapping off the stem end. If they are fresh, they will snap cleanly.
2. Place the beans in a pot of water to just cover them and cover the pot. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Immediately rinse the beans in very cold water or plunge them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and to retain the bright green color. As soon as they have cooled off, place the beans in a dish towel and wrap them to dry.
3. In the now dry pot that you cooked the green beans in (I have a wonderful oval pan from Rachael Ray that is a favorite for so many things, including cooking green beans) add the EVOO, the garlic, salt, pepper and the dried beans. Turn the heat to high, add the tomatoes and just gently toss for about 2-3 minutes – just to heat through and until the tomatoes barely begin to soften. I dare you to not start stealing beans before they ever make it to the serving bowl!