Connections:
Green Beans for Breakfast
By Nancy Yergin, MS,
RD, LDN, Forest County Penn State Extension
August is half over and the backyard garden is producing
food and beauty. The Lord Baltimore hardy hibiscus is covered with huge
burgundy blooms while the Joe-Pye Weed and Ironweed are taller than I am
and wearing mauve, lavender and deep purple.
The San Martino tomatoes I started from seed back in
March have been ripening on the trellis next to my greenhouse and my
dehydrator is turning fresh product into dried strips of flavor for next
winters' soups. Yellow crookneck squash still hide under prickly leaves
and Swiss chard is a wonderful shade of green in the garden and on my
dinner plate. The biggest success story has been the Roma green beans.
Seeds I've been trialing for a small Italian seed import company are
producing at a remarkable rate and I am nearly overwhelmed with the
product.
The objective testing is easy: I record the planting and
harvesting dates, percent germination (close to 100% so far), the
cumulative total weight picked, plus I measure the average length of the
pods and take a digital photo of each of four varieties. But, because it's
really about the taste and texture of the beans, I'm subjectively sampling
them too; at nearly every meal. I've discovered that a bowl of tender Roma
beans with a bit of butter and a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese is a
surprisingly satisfying breakfast.
Roma style green beans are different from any green bean
I've ever grown before. One variety, "Magirus", was bush-style and was
ready to pick two months to the day from when they were planted. Some
gardeners like bush beans better than pole beans because bush beans
produce a lot of pods in a short time frame; they do, however, take up
more space in the garden than pole beans. Bush beans rarely have trouble
with pests and diseases, simply because they are not in the garden long
enough to be bothered. The bush bean's shorter life span gives gardeners a
chance to dig up the dead stalks and plant a different crop or a
succession crop of beans.
Gardeners who prefer pole beans like the way they make
great use of vertical space by climbing up trellises or tepees, a bonus in
small gardens. Their longer presence in the garden does make them prey for
pests and diseases, which can disfigure the foliage toward the end of the
season. They also take more time to begin producing than bush beans, but
they continue to bear, slowly, through the summer, which is advantageous
if you do not want to eat beans every other day or bother to replant a
crop.
I belong to the pole bean camp. My remaining three
Italian beans are pole beans on bamboo teepees and tall wire cages and are
now producing at a slower rate but with greater volume. They've all
produced a large (7 to 9 inch), flat, slightly curved bean that hung from
hearty plants. The ten "Super Marconi" seeds really were "super' and I got
nearly 4 pounds from the first picking. "Smeraldo" and "Garrafal Oro", two
other varieties are also in bean high-gear.
Bush or pole beans are great vegetables to enjoy on a
plate or in a casserole. Most are best cooked in simmering water to cover
and removed when the desired state of tenderness is acquired. Italians
(and southerners) seem to favor a slow-cooked bean of melting tenderness.
Others prefer a slightly crisp-cooked bean that holds its shape. A cup of
cooked green beans contains 44 calories, 4 grams of dietary fiber and
great taste, making them one of August's finest gifts to backyard
gardeners and creative cooks.
Questions or comments on this or other columns? Nancy Yergin can be reached via email at
NLY1@PSU.EDU.
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