Help! I have a bushel of beans - what to do???

sitstaygimmeeakiss
sitstaygimmeeakiss Posts: 130 Member
in Recipes
Seriously. We have this local veggie/fruit market (not local farm fare - just the stuff I'd buy in the grocery store for less than a fraction of that price). So it's only open on Fri & Sat, and I've discovered the best bargains are to be had RIGHT close to closing. I had already loaded up my suitcase-on-wheels (I use this for shopping) with cantaloupes (2 for $1), strawberries (2 pound boxes for $1), 10 lbs of onions ($2) and more.. when I saw a guy selling a humongous box of string beans.

No, no, no - had no room to carry them & besides - I hate cutting the ends off (the string beans, not the box, hahaha - it kills my hands). So I exit, and when I was sitting waiting for my train I noticed a young woman appear w/one of the boxes...

Hmm - had to go back! The guy was gone, having left the boxes for whoever wanted them. It took me about a half minute to figure it all out (luckily I had one right in front of me so no one could grab that one!)

So now, folks: what should I do with a bushel of green (string) beans??? I know it's a bushel cuz that's what is stamped on the wooden box (also the origin - Georgia! Hooray for US produce!) To give you an idea how big a bushel is (the only point of reference for me are children's stories, haha): I have a small dog, Sammy, who weighs about 12 lbs, This box is the size of the crate he used to go in years ago.

Replies

  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    LOL, Your post caught my eyes because I absolutely love green beans, and would eat them at every single meal if I could. I'd love to help you out. I'd even chop the stems off for you. I steam then and then put some butter and fresh minced garlic on them YUM! Perhaps you could donate them to a food bank or give them to friends and/or co-workers?
  • kesteele
    kesteele Posts: 127
    Have you canned before? You should try canning then just whip out a can whenever you want some.
  • PLUMSGRL
    PLUMSGRL Posts: 1,134 Member
    wash, pat dry, pack 'em up in ziplock freezer bags.

    see if you can trade with some one for something else~
  • melbellkid
    melbellkid Posts: 72
    start blanching them and freezing them-I don't remember exact times, but put em in boiling water for a few then put them in ice water to stop the cooking process-then just drain and put in freezer bags-pull them out when you need them in a recipe or whatnot. I like beans with redskin potatoes and a little bit of ham or cooked bacon for flavor. Steam them and eat them...that is alot of beans!
  • stephmo86
    stephmo86 Posts: 45
    Mmmm! I'm jealous! I love green beans!

    I've made them with italian seasoning (oregano, basil, etc), pesto, and mix them into dishes like pasta or rice. You can make a bean salad too, you'll just need more beans.

    Then again, I will just eat green beans straight.
  • suzzann666
    suzzann666 Posts: 334 Member
    Yum, I've been on a green bean kick lately. Oven-roasted with whole cloves of garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. 450 degrees on a baking sheet, turn every 15 minutes or so, until they look good to you. Try it; it's awesome.
  • JessicaMurch5515
    JessicaMurch5515 Posts: 150 Member
    Green bean pickles.

    http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/spicy-pickled-green-beans-10000001932609/

    and green bean "fries", coated in panko and baked.

    http://www.fortheloveofcooking.net/2011/04/panko-crusted-green-beans-with-soy.html
  • niftyafterfifty
    niftyafterfifty Posts: 338 Member
    I always canned my green beans; I don't care for frozen ones. It's not hard; you can do an online search for canning techniques. Ball is a reputable canning supply company. Good luck!
  • calmmomw3minimeez
    calmmomw3minimeez Posts: 499 Member
    Aw, sorry you don't like cutting the ends - me either, but if you blanch, sautee(in olive oil), then add some garlic, ginger, and red wine vinegar, you'd have a nice side dish...I usually like to fry a cpl slices of bacon first, and let it drain while you working with the beans and lastly crumble the bacon over finished product. You probably won't have a problem finding some folks to divide that bushel though, good luck!:wink:
  • sitstaygimmeeakiss
    sitstaygimmeeakiss Posts: 130 Member
    OK, I *thought* I posted a response this morning! Arrggh - computer must have eaten it!

    Anyway - I haven't done anything about the beans yet - I got some eggplant & those spoil fast, so I breaded & baked them (eggplant is one of my most fav foods - now that's something I wouldn't mind eating every day!) Also decided to try baked onion rings (figure, what the heck - tomorrow's a holiday). Made a few goofs but all of it still turned out great.

    Whew - tired and I do NOT want to look at a bushel o' beans right now... but, you guys gave me lots of good ideas. I *have* roasted them before - forgot about that. (my fav way to cook broccoli is to roast it - oh, it's so good that way!) I have to avoid the bacon, calmmom, because, frankly, I'd eat the whole pkg. Bacon is about a once-a-year treat for me. I def want to try canning - but the past couple of weeks I've been extra clumsy & have goofed w/my cooking in a manner that's not typical for me. I think I'll wait to try the canning until I'm doing a bit better (I have fibro, & I go through flares w/both pain - and brain fuzz.. Seems right now that I'm experiencing both..)

    So I think I'm going to blanch & freeze whatever we don't plan to eat/give away this week. Even if we eat them every day & give a huge amt to our neighbors upstairs (don't know too many people around here), I'm still going to fill my freezer!

    Can't wait to see what I find the next time I visit Haymarket (that's our urban 'market' here in Boston where I go). I honestly think I could offer classes, about the history & to learn how to shop there (there's an art to it ;-), if only I could get a handle on my pain level.
  • sitstaygimmeeakiss
    sitstaygimmeeakiss Posts: 130 Member
    LOL, Your post caught my eyes because I absolutely love green beans, and would eat them at every single meal if I could. I'd love to help you out. I'd even chop the stems off for you. I steam then and then put some butter and fresh minced garlic on them YUM! Perhaps you could donate them to a food bank or give them to friends and/or co-workers?

    To bad you're not in the Boston area - I'd tell you to come over & I'd give you some! :happy:

    Donating to a food bank is a good idea - only I'd most likely be picking them up again when I go there myself. :laugh: I am going to give some to friends (don't know a whole lot of people in this area, but there are a couple of people I intend to share with). I myself live on a tight budget - but I'm creative, and have found many low cost solutions to stretch the dollars.

    I contacted my own church (also another in a nearby city) who has a food bank, offering my services to locate food (tried to explain my many years of experience, including raising four kids on very little money!!). I *know* I could come up with so much more than they already have, but they weren't interested. I don't have a car, and I have a disability so getting this food for myself is, in itself, quite a struggle. But so few people know some of the places I've located - I would love to share this info with others, but without a car I'd be dependent to go with someone else who volunteers. We have another church here w/a food bank - going to try that one, too.

    Well, here I am, going off on a tangent again... I really hate cliques, and it's all the worst when one finds them in a church setting!! It's depressing, when so many people go hungry!
  • BriskisGrl
    BriskisGrl Posts: 461
    Blanche them.. Put in boiling water for 3 minutes.. Then put into ice water for 3 mins.. Then dry put in freezer :D
  • sitstaygimmeeakiss
    sitstaygimmeeakiss Posts: 130 Member
    start blanching them and freezing them-I don't remember exact times, but put em in boiling water for a few then put them in ice water to stop the cooking process-then just drain and put in freezer bags-pull them out when you need them in a recipe or whatnot. I like beans with redskin potatoes and a little bit of ham or cooked bacon for flavor. Steam them and eat them...that is alot of beans!

    That's what I think I'm going to do. To save my already swollen knuckles, I'll leave the ends as they are (and tell anyone else eating here they have to do that themselves!)

    Everyone has some great recipe ideas here for green beans - can't wait to try them. Oh, bacon is my downfall - that would taste SO good, but I can't trust myself with it... maybe a little ham (because I don't like it nearly as much).

    I have some almonds I almost forgot I splurged & bought - I can toast some up for green bean almondine. Mmm...
  • CollisionofNova
    CollisionofNova Posts: 98
    I def want to try canning - but the past couple of weeks I've been extra clumsy & have goofed w/my cooking in a manner that's not typical for me. I think I'll wait to try the canning until I'm doing a bit better (I have fibro, & I go through flares w/both pain - and brain fuzz.. Seems right now that I'm experiencing both..)

    Just wanted to post and say I am so there with you right now. If I drop/break/trip over/burn/scald/overcook something else, I might scream.

    I've gotten into the habit of putting rubber bands around all my glass jars to give me a better grip. We don't have glasses in my house, I use extra mason jars instead.
  • sitstaygimmeeakiss
    sitstaygimmeeakiss Posts: 130 Member
    I always canned my green beans; I don't care for frozen ones. It's not hard; you can do an online search for canning techniques. Ball is a reputable canning supply company. Good luck!

    I roast my own coffee, and when a member of a homeroast group moved back to my area, he & his wife gifted me with two big boxes of green coffee beans - all in ball jars! So I have plenty of jars - I just need to learn. I actually don't like canned veggies at all, but one thing I know I'd like would be decent pickled string beans, like a three bean salad (the ones I've bought are SO sweet, full of sugar - yuck!) Was thinking of using Splenda or a mixture of splenda & sugar instead. Oh, I also got a huge bag of the best teeny cukes I've ever tasted - skinny ones, not like anything that's sold in our grocery stores around here. But I'm going to eat as much fresh as possible - at least this wk. Next wk I'll see if I can come up w/more - then I might give canning a try (if my brain will start working better, that is...)
  • poedunk65
    poedunk65 Posts: 1,336 Member
    can them as dilled beans. they will be good for a year and they are low cal munch
  • Pammie1000
    Pammie1000 Posts: 365 Member
    Try to keep them as cool as possible until you can put them up, I think freezing is the easiest, I have a freezer full of them from last year. We have a garden. I cook them in a pressure cooker with olive oil, onion salt, and lots of pepper, new potatoes are yummy with them. Here in the south many years ago, you would find extended families sitting in the yard in the shade "breaking beans" It does take a while, but a mouth full of the strings is not pleasent! but hopefully you have a stringless variety, you will be able to tell when you break off the ends.
  • Susabelle64
    Susabelle64 Posts: 207 Member
    Also Pickled........I make Dilly Beans.........AWESOME!!! LOL, they are great in Bloody Mary's as well as low cal snacks.
  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
    Yes freeze them in portions that you'll use them in. Also, consider donating to a local food bank.
  • DiannaMoorer
    DiannaMoorer Posts: 783 Member
    Don't bother blanching them. I do this every year. Snap them and de string them put them in double layer quart freezer bags to prevent freezer burn and enjoy for a long time!
  • Laurej
    Laurej Posts: 227
    you can also make green bean chips, coat with a tiny bit of olive oil, and bake until crispy tasty and lower cal than potato chips

    http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1023523
  • sitstaygimmeeakiss
    sitstaygimmeeakiss Posts: 130 Member
    you can also make green bean chips, coat with a tiny bit of olive oil, and bake until crispy tasty and lower cal than potato chips

    http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1023523

    What??? NO!!! Get outa here - omg, I am SO making these tomorrow!! Never had them, never heard of them - I make kale 'chips' (I actually dry them out longer now & use it like dried seaweed). For all the healthy food I buy, for all the stuff I make from scratch - potato chips still have the worst hold on me!!

    I just made what would be considered to be a normal amt of regular steamed tonight - happy to report they are delicious! They look a bit 'old' if you know what I mean, for string beans. (I sliced the ends off - couldn't stand cooking them like that!)

    Plain, nothing on them to see what I've got here - they were as good as or better than the expensive French beans I'd buy at the grocery store.

    Tomorrow - bean chips!! Will let you know how they turn out. :bigsmile:

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