These beans are a mainstay in our house.  And this summer we are likely to have them even more often.  Believe me, I am not complaining .   Nathan has poles and plans to make teepees which are connected together in a triangle.  Apparently the rattlesnake beans we purchased will grow all summer long and need to be picked 3 times a week.  He tells me the beans are supposed to grow across the top and they will hang down so we can pick them from on high! 

Groovy Garlic Green Beans

16 oz. french cut green beans (or the equivalent amount of fresh)
1/3 cup olive oil
10 cloves garlic, pressed
1 pinch red pepper flakes (we have a spoon labeled ‘pinch’; I think it’s around 1/8 tsp.  Use more if you like it hot!)
salt to taste

Place beans in a large skillet.  Add all ingredients (sometimes I hold back half of the cloves until the last 10 minutes or so of cooking).  Cook on low until beans are cooked down and tender, stirring frequently.  It helps to cook the first 5 minutes or so with a lid on, to get it nice and hot (esp. if frozen).  Then, when it is sizzling nicely, cook it like a stir fry until all the flavors are blended, the water is steamed out (if frozen), and the beans are nice and tender.  Enjoy!

I experimented with various avacado dressing recipes online, and came up with this one, which is truly delightful!

2 avocados
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 c. water
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped, fresh dill (or 1 1/3 tbsp. dried – but I haven’t tried this)
1 packet of Stevia sweetener (I used Stevia in the Raw)
1/4 cup lemon juice
salt to taste

Cut avacados in half around the pit.  Discard pit.  Carve out avacado meat with a thin spoon.  Mash with potato masher until creamed well.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Stir well, and enjoy!  Nathan says that it tastes like a party dip.  We tried it with chips and it was marvelous!  Perhaps I will add more water to make it more pourable for a dressing.

My son David is particularly fond of this recipe; in fact he helped to develop it himself. I am absolutely thrilled that he loves it, for he tends to be one of my more picky eaters, and I feel good knowing that he is partaking of something as wonderful as kefir. Kefir is a cultured beverage, which (like yogurt) is extremely probiotic in nature. Here is an excellent website which gives everything you want to know about kefir (and everything you didn’t want to know ). Dom’s Kefir Site is very fun to read because it is written in such an engaging style.

We were blessed when the wise and gracious Robyn (Mama of 7), from whom we buy goat’s milk, gave us some kefir grains (and sold us a $6 strainer), and we have been having these smoothies every other day since then. It is so easy! We just pour fresh milk over the strainer, which contains the kefir grains, and then set it in our pantry for a few days until it is of the right consistency (kind of lumpy). When we use it up, we transfer the kefir strainer to a new jar, pour fresh milk over it and then begin the process anew.
So, without further ado, here is this easy recipe:

Combine the following in a blender, chill (if you can wait) & enjoy! My son will often add color to the smoothies, so it will sometimes be rather vivacious looking .
1 quart kefir

1 quart milk

1/4 cup raw honey

2 bananas

1/4 tsp. vanilla

5-6 strawberries (optional)

These cookies are the tastiest I’ve every made and surely the healthiest also. I think the secret ingredient is the ground flax seed, which gives the cookies a wonderful chewiness.

Recently I’ve taken to omiting the chocolate chips and using 2/3 cup of cocoa powder instead. I’ve been trying for awhile to get just the right chewiness to my chocolate oatmeal cookies and I think I’ve hit on it with the flax seed. They are delicious and oh-so-chewy!

Flax Cookies
Yield: 9 dozen
1 1/3 cups butter
3 cups sucanat
(or 1 1/4 cups white sugar & 1 1/2 cups brown sugar)
2 1/3 cups flax seed (ground)
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 Tbs baking soda
3 cups rolled oats
1 10.5 oz bag chocolate chips or 2 cups raisins (optional)

Cream butter and sugars; add flax seed. Beat eggs and vanilla, then combine with the flax mixture. Sift flour and soda (I never sift it, but take it directly from the grinder and mix it right in ). Mix in oats and combine with other ingredients. Roll about a tablespoon of dough on baking sheet leaving about 2 inches between cookies. Preheat oven to 350 and bake on cookie sheet for 12 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and cool.

UPDATE: It is helpful to add a little less flour and oats to make the dough a little less crumbly and the cookies easier to form.  I removed the “chill dough” for it does not seem necessary with these cookies.  It is still helpful to chill the dough if it is not very stiff.