My first creative endeavor: southern green beans

My food creation journey began when I was a teenager. My mother wasn't a very good cook (at least I didn't think so), but every time we had a social at church, everything was so yummy. I wanted to recreate the deliciousness, but there was a slight problem. I wasn't the one in charge of purchasing food, so the only ingredients I had to work with were what was in the house. My first project I wanted to tackle was to recreate the delicious green beans that every woman at my church was constantly churning out (I grew up in the south). I had to find something that was better than the plain, re-heated canned beans that my mother served. Here's the process I went through:

I tasted many different versions of green beans. Some were better than others, but the most delicious ones all had a few similar qualities. Firstly, they were all made of canned green beans, not frozen or fresh. Secondly, there was a slight greasiness, indicating the addition of some sort of fat. Thirdly, there was always a distinct saltiness.

My first attempt at southern-style green beans was nothing more than 1 can of green beans with about 2 tsp margarine and a sprinkling of salt. Those were the simplest ingredients that I knew of that would bring all those qualities together. It wasn't as good as most of the green beans at the potlucks at church, but it was miles above simply opening a can, warming it and serving it.

That recipe was satisfactory enough to me that I used it for many years. Once I came up with it, I was always asked to make the green beans when we had them with dinner. However, as I reached adulthood and moved out, I found myself in a place that didn't have such good cooks at church. I decided to have a go at improving my green beans and making them more like what I remembered. I thought back and identified two more flavors that I was missing, flavors that I couldn't have added before, because they were never in my mother's kitchen: onions and a meaty flavor.

I didn't want to deal with the time, energy, and expense of cooking bacon or other smoked meat just for green beans, so I decided to try bacon bits instead. I also hate chopping onions, so I used dehydrated onion flakes. Both of these ingredients re-hydrated in the cooking process because of the liquid from the can. I also stuck with the margarine and salt. It was even better.

But I noticed that the buttery flavor of the margarine didn't go very well with the meaty, smoky flavor of the bacon bits, so the next time I made it I used oil. That was perfect. I have used that basic recipe innumerable times in the last 10 years. Occasionally, I added real onions or leftover ham and ham grease, but that was only when I had the ingredients on hand and was in the mood for a real treat.

So the final recipe was:

1 can green beans (any style)
2 tsp oil (any kind, even olive oil)
2-4 Tbsp dehydrated onion flakes
2-4 Tbsp bacon bits (either real or artificial)
salt to taste

Drain the green beans, but leave a little less than half the water. Put them in a saucepan. Add the oil, onion, and bacon bits. Stir so that the onion and bacon bits are moistened. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the onions and bacon bits are soft and the flavors have come together. Taste and then add salt to taste.

The most important thing to remember about any recipe I post is that it is always a jumping off point. Alter it in any way that makes it taste better to you or that complies with your own dietary restrictions. For example, if you're trying to add more veggies in your diet, definitely use real onion. If you're trying to decrease fat in your diet, decrease the oil or leave it out. If you're trying to cut out salt, use no salt green beans and flavor it with lemon or an herb mixture like Mrs. Dash.

Most importantly enjoy the creative process and enjoy your food!