Easy to grow and cook beans!

Green Roma beans, yellow beans and edamame. All did really well this year and tasted unbelievable! Fresh from the garden. So tender. What joy!

Unlike the peas I grew earlier this spring, the flowers on my beans were not as pretty. But the plants were prolific and pest free. Who could ask for more!

Beans as nitrogen fixers

Many things I’ve read encourage gardeners to use a nitrogen fixing powder to inoculate beans before planting. I’ve tried that but didn’t get good results with the plants. That could easily be due to gardener error but this year, I decided to just put the beans in the ground. Even without the inoculation, beans are supposed to return nitrogen to the soil, helping plants that grow there after them.

Second crop

My first crop did so well, I decided to plant again in late July. A few plants are up and it looks like I’ll get a second — or really, a third crop. I went to pull my first bean plants today (mid-August) and low and behold, they had a second crop of beans on them! Most of them were small and I probably should have left the plants in the ground for them to mature but they were looking pretty worn and tired. Next year, I’ll know!

Heading for the kitchen!!

One of my favorite ways to cook beans is to just cooked them for about five minutes in a little water. Let that evaporate in the pan and added a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Sometimes black pepper, sometimes a red pepper with mild heat like Aleppo. Sooo, easy and sooo good!!

They were really good in this Thai inspired dish that also used Thai basil which is doing very well in the garden beds.

Basil Ginger Tofu with Garden Beans

First I made a quick marinade for the tofu that will double as a sauce for the dish. It combines 2 Tbs. Tamari, 3 Tbs. lime juice, 1 Tbs. of brown sugar and 1 tsp. of Thai ginger hot sauce. I used a very hot hot sauce. If using something milder, like Sriracha, you might want to add more to bump up the heat. Or, if you are heat adverse, omit it altogether.

Cube the tofu in about one inch pieces and put them in the sauce.

Next I got all of my chopping out of the way. About a half a cup of the yellow beans cleaned and trimmed. Half a red pepper sliced thin. Half a cup of onion sliced thing and about a half a cup of broccoli florets. I also sliced about two tablespoons of ginger very thinly. That’s a fair amount of ginger but I love the flavor.

Into the pan they went to sauté until just softened — about five minutes.

All the veggies went into a cast iron skillet. I have a wok but sometimes I just like working with my cast iron. I have a fair collection of cast iron even after giving each of my daughters a pan or two when they moved out on their own:-). Most of it was purchased for a dollar or two at thrift stores and yard sales. By the markings on some of the pans, a few of them are over 150 years old. I think it’s so cool that something that old is still not just in use but doing better than ever!

I added some salt to the veggies. How appropriate is Thai ginger salt that my daughter brought me from a trip to San Diego! But any sea salt will do.

Remove the veggies from the pan and add the tofu, reserving the marinade.

Sauté them until they are crispy and brown.

Add the vegetables back into the pan, the remaining marinade and about a tablespoon of chopped Thai Basil.

Sauté just a minute or two to rewarm.

Chop additional Thai Basil to top the dish.

I served this over brown rice and it was super good!

Ingredients

Marinade

• 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• hot sauce to taste (I used 1 teaspoon of very hot Thai ginger hot sauce

The rest of the dish

• 8 ounces of tofu cut into one inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon of a neutral, high-heat oil (I used avocado)
• 1/2 cup of snap beans, green or yellow
• 1/2 cup red pepper
• 1/2 cup of thinly sliced onion
• 1/2 cup of broccoli florets
• 2 tablespoons of ginger
• 1/4 cup of Thai basil (If you don’t have Thai Basil, use regular basil with some mint added.)

Directions

Whisk the lime juice, tamari, brown sugar and hot sauce together in a bowl large enough to hold the tofu Cube the tofu into about one inch pieces and drop it into the marinade. Heat a wok or a skillet and add about 1tablespoon of a neutral oil. I used avocado oil because of its health properties added to its ability to take high heat. Add the onion and lightly salt it. Sauté for about two minutes and then add the sliced pepper, ginger and broccoli. Sauté for about 4 minutes more and add the beans. Cook for about three more minutes until the veggies are crisp tender. Remove the veggies from the pan.

Add a little more oil to the pan if needed and sauté until the tofu is browned. Add the veggies about 1 tablespoon of chopped Thai Basil and the marinade into the pan cook for just a minute or two until heated through. Top with more chopped Thai Basil

Serve over rice or rice noodles or udon or just enjoy by itself!

Notes

Almost any vegetable would work in this. I think summer squash or cauliflower would be excellent. I did not put garlic in this because the hot sauce I used had a LOT of garlic in it but garlic would be a great addition, just add it at the very end of the vegetable cooking time so it doesn’t burn.

I am primarily vegetarian but this dish would also work with an animal protein. You would just need to adjust the cooking time — less for shrimp, more for chicken