Fresh from the Garden

One of the #1 reasons I love living in CA again is the fresh produce. It has been fun to help my parents garden and see what they are producing daily. Yesterday we picked, snapped and prepared the green and yellow beans for the freezer. Also below I typed out a really good bean recipe that we made as a side dish to our salmon dinner. It was delicious. So anyone else with too many green/yellow beans on their hands this is a great way to doctor them up as a fancy side dish!!

Roasted Green Beans with Candied walnuts
Ingredients
1 lb. green beans, stemmed ends snapped off (yellow works too!)
1/2 medium yellow or red onion cut into thin small wedges
salt and pepper to taste (1/4-1/2 tsp.)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme
1 tsp. minced fresh garlic
1/3 cup chopped candied walnuts
Method
1. Place rack in middle position, preheat oven to 450. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Mix snapped beans, onions, olive oil, salt and pepper in bowl to coat evenly. Spread mixture of beans on prepared baking sheet and roast for 10 min.
2. While roasting the beans, combine the balsamic vinegar, honey, thyme, and garlic in a small bowl.
3. After the beans are done roasting for 10 min. remove from oven. Place beans in bowl with balsamic mixture and coat evenly. Return mixture to baking sheet to roast for 12-15 min. longer. Beans will start to shrivel and get dark golden brown spots when ready. Don't overcook!! Transfer to serving dish and sprinkle with candied walnuts and serve.
Serves: 4