We don’t eat a lot of meat, but we try to eat a fair amount of beans to supplement our amino acid. Beans are a good source of a lot of nutrients, but most importantly, they taste good.
Last week at the Oak Park Farmers’ Market, at the Geneva Lakes Produce stand in the southeast corner of the lot, I spotted some bags of “Shelly Beans.” They were five bucks a bag, which is significantly more than they’d be if I bought them in the “shell” and “shelled” them myself. But who wants to do that? Five bucks is a good price, and the upcharge is worth it for the labor saved.
The shelly beans turned out to be fantastic. “You can just boil them in some beef broth,” said the man at the stand, but we found that they didn’t need that level of finesse: I just boiled them in water for about half an hour. They were so lush and creamy, I didn’t even have to add butter to make them delicious. My youngest daughter liked them so much she just ate them straight, without salt.
Most of the beans we eat are dried, and they’re usually just fine. Fresh beans, however, when you can get good ones, are a culinary blessing, though the ones we’ve purchased at the local grocery stores sometimes seem a touch “starchy,” which is probably the result of sitting on the shelf too long. The ones we bought from Geneva Lakes Produce seemed fresh-picked, very sweet and almost tender enough to eat without cooking.
If you’ve never made fresh beans at home, a five-buck bag of Shelley Beans from Geneva Lakes Produce is a good place to start.
