Are you a green bean lover, or do you dislike them? Friends, I do not see most things as black and white, I actually love the gray area. Knowing that, there is one other option, you are just ok with green or another kind of fresh beans. If long beans are on your plate, you will eat them, but never remember you did. You pass them by at farmer’s markets, and do not ever think to add them to your shopping list for the grocery store. I have always been in the gray area about green beans, up until this year/season. Feast your eyes on my sauteed beans with garlic and hazelnuts.

Welcome to week 30 of Reddit’s 52 Weeks of Cooking Challenge. If you are paying attention, I have not posted for a couple weeks. I participated in the Reddit challenges however, creating the dishes, and posting the pictures. I got tons of upvotes, blah blah blah, but have not posted on my blog yet due to my east coast vacation(can I get a whoot whoot). Poof, there goes my New Year’s resolution. I will publish a post about creamy red scalloped potatoes with fresh thyme, and bacon wrapped chicken apple sausage pigs in blankets at some later date, when I have more time.

I truly cannot get enough of the beans Oakhill Organics has been  growning and offering us for the last couple weeks. I enjoy and crave the sweet crunchiness they add to chopped salads. Despite the fact that it has been 1 million degrees outside and we have no air conditioning, I wanted to deviate from a salad and instead cook something for the clean eating Reddit challenge.

One really really hot day last week, I had the green and Romano beans out on the counter thinking about how pretty and unique they were, and feeling a touch of crazy wash over me, happened to glance up and one of our cast iron pans. I pulled it down, put it on the stove and started snapping the ends off the beans. I smashed, peeled and chopped garlic, chopped some hazelnuts (thank you Jane and Tobey), sautéed everything in coconut oil, added some salt to taste, and the clean eating challenge was sorted.

I have made a few versions of this dish since my girls and I have been back from our east coast vacation(can I get a whoot whoot).  One was a green bean saute that had garlic, fresh Thyme and rough chopped almonds. For a snack this afternoon, I sautéed green and Romano beans, chopped shallot, garlic, hazelnuts, raw pumpkin seeds and fresh thyme in coconut oil. Whatever nuts, herbs, good fats you include in this dish, I hope you enjoy it with your family and friends. Please leave a comment below and let me know how you adjusted this recipe to make your own.

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