I had a great weekend with LOTS of fabulous food: the curried rhubarb sauce of Friday night, a candlelit feast on Saturday night (more on that in a moment), and a farm market bonanza last night … sigh. As a quote I once noted says: “Chi mangia bene sta molto vicino a Dio” - “Those who eat well are close to God.”

One of the many amusements of the past few days involved a competition: The Great Green Bean Battle. It was not only a challenge to see whether Thom, the handsome man (and fellow food obsessive) I’ve been seeing for a few weeks, or I have the best green bean recipe; but it was also a test to see if I could ever get Jeremy to eat this beloved vegetable, which I adore and he has always loathed. Thom made the most amazing and beautiful dinner for me on Saturday night -- marinated, grilled flank steak spread with homegrown/homemade pesto

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summer squash sautéed and then simmered with bacon and onion; and green beans with a lemon-almond-butter sauce drizzled over them. It sounds so simple, but it was really, truly, and gloriously beyond description … even for someone as effusive as I am! As he cooked and I stayed “admirably” out of the way, my own green bean recipe came up in conversation -- another simple version, one sautéed in olive oil with garlic and ground almonds. We decided right then that we would each be assigned half of the beans and half of the almonds, and we would do a “throwdown” to see which of us had a better recipe. Truth be told, the Battle ended in a stalemate on Saturday night. Each of us enthused rapturously about the other’s offering; and the simplicity of the dishes was a significant portion of their beauty, as the almonds and either the lemon or the garlic enhanced -- rather than hiding -- the flavor of the beans. And so then I challenged Jeremy to try them, and cooked both recipes myself last night to see if we could determine a winner.

Jeremy bravely faced not just one but TWO bowls of despised green beans (he is otherwise an exceptional omnivore!), and rose to the occasion by not just sniffing the vegetables or barely grazing his lips with them, but actually eating and tasting them. And his verdict??? “I could eat them if I had to, and I even liked them. But -- I hate to say it, Mom -- I think I liked Thom’s version just a little bit better.” My own flesh and blood! 17 hours of labor, for this?!?!? But I can live with it -- Jeremy will actually eat green beans the next time I make them, so I'm thrilled! So now I challenge you to try them both for yourself and to let me know which you prefer: Thom’s Lemon-Almond Green Beans (pictured on the left) or Mary’s Garlic-Almond Green Beans (obviously, then, pictured on the right). What better way to devour the bounty available right now??? Cook, then eat well. No matter which of these recipes you make, you will be happy!

Thom’s Lemon-Almond Green Beans

4 cups green beans, ends trimmed 1/3 cup butter 1/3 cup ground almonds (Thom usually makes this with sliced almonds, but ground was all we had available) juice from half lemon pinch of kosher salt pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Place the green beans into a steamer and cook for 10 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and add the almonds; swirl the pan occasionally while cooking for 1-2 minutes, until the almonds are barely browned. Set aside to cool a bit, then add the lemon juice, salt and pepper; reheat just to a foam. Place the green beans into a serving dish, and drizzle the sauce over them. Serves 4-6.

Mary’s Garlic-Almond Green Beans

4 cups green beans, trimmed 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 large garlic cloves, minced 1/3 cup ground almonds 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place the green beans into a steamer and cook for 10 minutes or until tender. Heat the oil in a 10” skillet over medium heat and sauté the garlic for 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in the almonds, salt and pepper and cook for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the green beans and coat them with the almond mixture; cook for 1-2 more minutes until the almonds are golden. Place into a serving dish. Serves 4-6.

The stone pictured at the top of this post was a gift from a very dear friend who took a recent trip to Israel. The Hebrew lettering is a verse from Deuteronomy 16:15 -- “You Should Always Be Happy.” As explained in my very first post, that seemed a fitting sentiment for a blog about passion for food!