"A vegetable garden in the beginning looks so promising and then after all little by little it grows nothing but vegetables, nothing, nothing but vegetables."

Gertrude Stein

     Never a busier spring have I seen! An upcoming trip abroad and three weddings in September have given me little time to think, let alone write. Then the garden started producing lovely, little beans and I remembered why I love writing about food; it's fleeting, it's mysterious, and it's currently exploding in the backyard. This is less a recipe and more a decision to eat as many fresh beans as I can in the coming weeks. Feel free to substitute a different vegetable for the beets. 

              String Beans with Beets, Mustard, and Mint

     I added beets to the beans because I had already roasted them the day before. To do so, peel and roughly chop the beets, coat them in olive oil, season them with salt and pepper and cook for about 45 minutes at 350 F. 

     Make sure your beans are clean before you trim the stem and then add them to a shallow pan with a few tablespoons of water. Cook over high heat until the water evaporates and add the beets to the pan. 

     Meanwhile, whisk together olive oil, vinegar (I used raspberry), stone-ground mustard, honey, salt, pepper, and spices and pour over vegetables. Stir to evenly coat and sprinkle with mint. Serve warm or room temperature. 

Recipe

1/4 lb string beans

2 medium beets, chopped and roasted 

1/4 c olive oil (more for roasting)

2 tbsp vinegar 

1 rounded tbsp stone-ground mustard 

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 tbsp thinly sliced mint 

salt and pepper to taste