Dilly Beans!

We expanded our Humble Feast dinners this month, adding a second location at the Salmon Bay Eagles' Lodge, and moving the Capital Hill event to the larger, lovely Montlake Community Center. The new venues present challenges and opportunities, and I especially enjoyed making the same meal 2 weeks in a row, and being able to learn and fine tune the recipes.

By popular demand, here's the recipe for the Dilly Beans that we made this month. It actually comes from my Local Bounty cookbook, and it's basically a pickled green bean, only it's eaten fresh rather than canned.

Dilly Beans (makes 4 servings)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, cut in rings
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup white or red wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 lb. green beans, rinsed and trimmed

Heat the olive oil in a medium-size saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, salt and dill. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and transluscent. Add the vinegar and water, and bring the mixture to a boil.

Add the green beans. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring often so all of the green beans come into contact with the liquid.

Serve chilled, or at room temperature.