NOTE: I spend my Wednesdays Unplugged from appointments. It's my day to stay home, enjoy cooking and welcome our kids and grandkids for dinner in the evening. We end our meal with quotes from the Norwegian 'Quote Cup' passed on to me from my grandmother. I share a quote and a recipe here each week, and sometimes some photos of family fun. I love trying new recipes…and love getting recipes you would like to share!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Every action in our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity." ~ Edwin Hubble Chapin
Last week was my birthday week so I thought about some of my favorite foods. It seems many of our favorite things have memories associated with them. I grew up on a potato farm and have wonderful memories of digging fresh potatoes from the field next to our house to cook for dinner at this time of the year…it seemed we always had potatoes for every meal! We grew different varieties of potatoes but my favorites have always been reds…so sweet and moist. We also had a big garden, and my favorites were spinach and green beans…yum…loved them fresh, but wouldn't eat the canned versions…yuk!
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
This week's recipe combines two of my fresh-from-the-garden summer favorites…baby red potatoes and green beans. They are cooked and blanched first, then sauteed in butter and olive oil (butter for flavor, olive oil so butter doesn't burn)…delicious!
SAUTEED BABY RED POTATOES & HARICOTS VERTS
recipe from Viviane of Food & Style
1 1/4 pounds baby red potatoes- 1 1/2 pound green beans
- zest of 1/2 -1 lemon, peeled with no pith and julienne sliced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3/4-1 teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Boil potatoes with skins on for 10-14 minutes until tender. Cool.
Snap the stem end off the beans and cut in half. Blanch cut beans in a large pot of boiling water with 1 tablespoon of salt (to help retain nutrients in beans rather than being lost in the water) for 3-4 minutes…they should still be slightly crunchy. Remove them from the boiling water and immediately put them into a bowl of ice water to stop cooking. Cool, then put into a bowl lined with paper towels.
Slice cooled potatoes into 1/2" wedges.
Heat 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet. Add potatoes, toss and saute 2-3 minutes until brown around the edges. Add lemon zest and keep tossing until golden brown, 1-2 minutes. Add green beans, toss well and saute another 1-2 minutes. (Total cooking time should be 6-7 minutes.)
Add 3/4-1 teaspoon sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and serve.
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – Email – HomesMSP.com
