The harvest continues, and our best year of green beans is coming to an end. If you are wondering what to do with some of the ones you may not have eaten yet, or that you get in this week’s share, we recommend the recipe below. Many years ago I went to a small restaurant in Webster, New York that had a chef there who was a master at sauces. He was good with simple veggies too, and I had a dish of green beans with Asian five spice powder. The combination was superb, and I’ve used it often. We had the recipe below the other night.

Sweet Potato Greens
There will be a handful of samples of sweet potato greens at the end of the line this week. Ted Carey of KSU, who we buy our sweet potato starts from, has been working to re-introduce the many benefits of this delicious tuber to the area. Among the benefits is that you can eat the leaves of the plant, not just the root. Cooked, the greens are quite mild, but very healthy and full of antioxidants. Rebecca made a wonderful dish the other night based on this recipe. She modifed it quite a bit, using only a couple tablespoons of oil, subsituting fish sauce for the fish, and adding ginger. Google “sweet potato recipes” and see what you like. There is a simple recipe here. If people like them we will make them a regular share item in the fall.

Green Beans with Asian Five Spice Powder
Ingredients:
1 lb fresh green beans
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
2 tsp Asian Five Spice Powder
1 to 2 tbsp butter
pinch of salt
3 tbsp sunflower seeds

Method:
Clean the green beans by snapping off and discarding the stem end, and then snapping the beans in two.
Steam beans for 5 to 10 minutes, or until tender but still crunchy
Transfer to a bowl and mix with remaining ingredients
Serve hot

You can also cook the beans by sauteing them in a skillet for 5 to 10 minutes over medium high heat until they start to carmelize a bit and then tossing with the remaining ingredients.

Bulk Order Week of 9/28/09
Garlic $8.00/lb
Chard $3.00/bunch
Eggplant $3.00/lb
Beets $3.oo/bunch (specify Chiogga (stripped), or red beets)
Jalapenos $2.50/pint, $4.00/quart
Pepperoncinis $2.50/pint, $4.00/quart
Tomato seconds (as available heirloom and hybrids) – $2.50/lb; $2.00/lb over 10 lbs
Basil $2.oo/bunch
Dried herbs $2.00/tin (thyme, marjoram, dried hot peppers, lovage, lavendar flowers, coriander, oregano, rosemary)