Heavy-duty foil saves clean-up time, and green bean recipe!

I finally made green beans a different way than the usual standby of simmering in broth with a little butter and salt. Husband and I used to eat green beans like this often, but they can be stringy, so when I started cooking and considering the oral skills of a little one, I switched to the softer boiled/steamed beans and kind of got stuck— but stuck in a good way since we all loved them anyway.

Roasted garlic/ginger/sesame green beans

Cuisine: Asian influence

Author: Katja Rowell, MD

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 3-6

Quick prep green bean side with Asian flavors. adapted from Cooks Illustrated

Ingredients

• 1 pound green beans, snap off the stem end, keep pointy ends on, wash
• 1 Tbspn EVOO
• sauce for step 2. mix all ingredients in a small bowl:
• 1 tspn EVOO
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil (recipe says 1/2, but I find it can be overpowering)
• 1 Tbspn minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1/2 tspn hot red pepper flakes (I used about 1/4 since M isn't a fan of too spicy, and it was her first time with this in a long time.) can omit altogether
• 2 teaspoons honey

Instructions

1. preheat oven to 450, line pan with foil, spray with oil or small amount of oil. Rack in middle position.
2. Spread beans on sheet, drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil and mix with hands, coating beans. Layer evenly and roast for about 10 minutes.
3. step 2: take beans out of oven, pour sauce on beans, using tongs, coat beans. Continue roasting about 10-12 minutes, until they get brown spots and start to shrivel. Start watching after 8 minutes so they don't burn.
4. * you can also just omit step 2 sauce, and roast green beans with sea salt and a little pepper. Also yummy! Take them out after 10 minutes and give them a stir, then pop them back in.

3.2.1230

Try my favorite Garden of Eden herbs and save time!

Get kids involved

Even young children can snap off the stem end of the beans and wash them. As able, kids can measure and mix the sauce and toss with tongs. If you have a more finicky eater, or want to engage older kids, consider a recipe tasting. Make the beans two ways, one tray with salt and pepper only, and the other tray with the Asian coating. See which they prefer and why? Or change the recipe in other way: less or more spice, sesame seeds...

Gear Gushing

Also want to share that I LOVE the heavy-duty foil. Or rather, my husband and chief bottle washer loves it... One sheet is actually big enough to cover the whole pan instead of trying to overlap two of the more flimsy ones that always tore and leaked, so it really is a simple clean-up. It's hard enough to get dinner on the table some nights, and if the thought of scouring a pan is enough to tip you into ordering take-out, it might be worth considering!

I will be heading out of town for a few weeks, so no blog posts until after July 4th, but please stop by facebook, where I think I will still be able to pass on hopefully fun insights from feeding and food in France and Germany while I visit family!

Oh, and I HATE trying to estimate how many servings my recipes make. Sometimes 3 of us devour 6 plus typical servings, other times we have leftovers. "Servings" and portion sizes are so individual!