Green Beans with Gorgonzola & Grinding Grains

I was surprised to find a bird nest, in the rose bush along the path from the driveway to the house.  Another sweet surprise.  I've had a grain grinder for a number of years.  It's a hand grinder, and let me tell you, grinding enough grain to bake bread is a workout.  J has been pondering for some time how to electrify it.  He tinkered and tweaked over the weekend, and we now have an electric-powered grinder.  Hooray!  I'll be baking bread, and some whole wheat chocolate chip cookies today to celebrate.

Our green beans are just about finished, but I harvested just enough from Mark and Meredith's garden to make this new recipe, which J & I both agree is a keeper.  I found it at What's Cooking America.

Grilled Green Beans with Gorgonzola Vinaigrette

6 cups lightly salted boiling water
1 pound green beans, ends trimmed
1 tbs olive oil, divided
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1 tbs firmly-packed brown sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp chopped fresh basil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, over medium-high heat, bring water to a boil.  Add the beans and partially cook for 4 to 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Drain the beans in a colander and immediately immerse them in an ice water bath to stop from cooking; drain and set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 1/2 tsp of the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, gorgonzola, brown sugar, garlic, green onion, thyme and basil.  Cook just until the ingredients start to combine, approximately 7 minutes. Remove from heat.

Toss the green beans in the remaining 1 1/2 tsp of olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper.  Lightly grill the beans on the grill approximately 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from grill and toss in the warm vinaigrette.  Serve immediately.  Makes 6 servings.

As is often the case, I didn't follow the recipe to the letter.  I used blue cheese in place of gorgonzola, 1/2 of one of our smallish homegrown yellow onions in place of green onion, and organic sugar in place of brown.  I couldn't see firing up the grill for 1 to 2 minutes, so cooked them in the wok.  Still perfectly delicious!

Green Bean Goodness

Today was a beautiful day.  A good portion of it was spent outdoors, shelling crowder peas and lima beans, and doing a bit of embroidery.  I'm loving having the windows open so much of the time.  One recent night, I awoke to hear the cries of two coyotes, and the call of a barred owl- "who cooks for you".  I am grateful to live in such a place.

I was on a mission this year to find one or more recipes that made me glad to eat green beans.  Here is the first one.  I hope you enjoy it too.

Roasted Green Beans with Onions and Walnuts

1 lb green beans, stem ends snapped off
1/2 medium yellow or red onion, cut into 1/2 inch thick wedges
1 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey
1 tsp minced fresh thyme
2 medium thin-sliced garlic cloves
1/3 cup toasted chopped walnuts

1.  Place rack in middle position; preheat oven to 450 degreesF.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Spread the beans and onions on the baking sheet.  Drizzle the beans with olive oil and use your hands to coat the beans evenly. Sprinkle beans with 1/2 tsp salt, toss to coat, and distribute in an even layer.  Roast for 10 minutes.
2.  While roasting the beans, combine the balsamic vinegar, honey, thyme, and garlic slices in a small bowl.
3. After the beans and onions have roasted for 10 minutes, remove from oven.  Drizzle the vinegar honey mixture over the beans and onions.  Use tongs to coat evenly.  Put back in the oven and continue to roast until onions and beans are dark golden brown in spots and beans have started to shrivel, about 12 to 15 minutes longer.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Transfer to serving dish, sprinkle with toasted chopped walnuts and serve.  This recipe came from Simply Recipes.