Mom’s Green Beans

It’s funny how certain foods spark memories. Last week, a friend gave me some beautiful beans. Not just green beans, but a mix of colorful beans. Thanks, Terry.

I can’t see fresh green beans without thinking of my mother.

She loved fresh vegetables and I credit her with inspiring a love of veggies in me. But there were certain vegetables that were favorites. Beans were one of those.

In the summertime, our family would often go for a Sunday drive. We’d make our way into the countryside, stopping at little roadside farm stands on the way. My mom would always be on the lookout for beans.

During the summer, after one of our drives,  she would serve us an evening snack that seemed normal to me. I am sure it would have seemed odd to my friends.

Mom started by trimming the ends off the beans, but leaving them whole. She would then boil up the green beans. She cooked them until they were just tender. She didn’t like her vegetables “cooked to mush.” Then she would pile them up on a plate, sprinkle them with salt and add a pat of butter.

We ate the beans with our fingers, picking up a bean and running it over the butter.  It was a favorite snack of mine.

So I decided to enjoy some of the lovely beans I was gifted, by making them ‘Mom style”.  The only difference is that I used a homemade toasted sesame salt.

It was just as wonderful as I remember.