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Home » Fresh Italian Green Bean Salad and A Kitchen Garden

Fresh Italian Green Bean Salad and A Kitchen Garden

July 7, 2014 18 Comments


fresh Italian green bean salad

garden fresh-picked green beans
Italian-style with goat cheese and pimento

For me, the best time of year is during the summer when it’s time to reap the rewards of our spring-time labor in the gardens!  A perfect time for my family’s Fresh Italian Green Salad and A Kitchen Garden update.

Although my favorite all-time season is spring when everything outside wakes up after their winter nap, I experience just an amazing internal feeling of gratification for an abundant garden harvest throughout summer.  Truthfully, it never fails to overwhelm me how we can feed and sustain ourselves in such a heathy, pure way just from planting tiny little seeds!

Food from seeds!

Seriously, just stop and think about this for a second!  It’s mind-boggling!

If everyone could have a garden, whether on an acreage, farm, or in even in pots placed on a patio or windowsill, we’d all be nourishing our bodies, minds and souls so much better!

I’ve been so fortunate to have been raised in a family of extraordinary gardeners from Italy to Iowa.  Gardening is just in my blood!

garden green beans

fresh green beans from my gardens

When we built our home, I specifically wanted my vegetable and herb gardens to be right next to my kitchen with a door that I could just walk out into the gardens with my sheers and harvesting basket in hand at a moment’s notice.

kitchen garden

my kitchen window and gardens just outside my door

During the winter, I look out at my raised beds through my kitchen window and see them empty and sleeping through the cold.  My thoughts seriously drifting off, as I cannot wait until I can get my hands back in the dirt to plant again come springtime!  As my father used to say, “You’re the one in the family that certainly got the farming gene.”  No one else in my immediate family gardens any more . . . just me.  And I love it!

This week, we picked beans.  LOTS of beans!

Which means that it is that time of year to prepare my ‘go to’, ultra-simple Fresh Italian Green Bean Salad that my mother continues to make to this day and that which everyone eats straight out of the serving bowl without waiting to use a bowl of our own!  Oh yes, we eventually do use our manners and serve this bean salad in a bowl, but when it is first made?  Look out, we go straight in for it and can’t stop!

garden green beans

use about 1 pound of freshly cooked beans

garden green beans

Add about 1 up of chopped onions added to your favorite home-made or store-bought Italian dressing (we use Good Seasons packets and use part red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar in place of regular apple cider vinegar.  And we also always use extra-virgin olive oil instead of regular ‘oil’)

garden green beans

toss the beans into the Italian dressing while the beans are still warm

garden green beans

generously salt and pepper to taste

To amp this salad up a little bit more, sprinkle in some crumbled goat cheese and some drained, diced red pimentos! DELICIOUS!

fresh Italian green bean salad

 I use the same recipe for our family’s Simple Beet Salad

Fresh Italian Green Bean Salad & A Kitchen Garden

Fresh Italian Beet Salad

and now if you love green beans, especially the thin French ‘haricot vert’ variety, you will absolutely LOVE this fresh recipe for

Fresh Haricot Vert Green Beans with Roasted Peppers

green bean salad

Fresh Haricot Vert Green Beans with Roasted Peppers

one last peak from my kitchen window as a lazy summer day goes by  . . .

kitchen gardens

Enjoy this recipe about my 

Fresh Garden Green Bean Salad and A Kitchen Garden !

 


Previous Post: « Nutella and Pistachio Gelato
Next Post: Fresh Peach Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette »

Reader Interactions

 

I read each and every comment and respond to questions asap, so ask away!  As I always say, “If you’ve made a recipe, please take a photo and I’ll be happy to share your experience and photo of the recipe with all of us in this blog community!”

The kindness of giving a thumbs up 5-star rating is greatly appreciated!

~ Roz

Comments

  1. Mindy says

    July 7, 2014 at 3:49 PM

    I love seeing photos of your garden! I can’t imagine life without a plot of dirt. The beans sound delicious.

    Reply
    • Roz says

      July 7, 2014 at 4:13 PM

      Oh thank you Mindy, I couldn’t live out a plot of dirt either! I’ll be right by your blog to see what you’ve been up to!
      Roz

      Reply
  2. [email protected]'s Recipes says

    July 8, 2014 at 5:30 AM

    You have a wonderful garden! Those chive flowers are beautiful…can’t believe that you already harvested your tomatoes while mine are still very tiny.

    Reply
    • Roz says

      July 8, 2014 at 8:24 AM

      Thanks Angie! It’s just because of living in the South where things just grow so much faster and for a longer season. I love the chive flowers too and want to plant more of them just for the pop of color!
      Roz

      Reply
  3. 2 Sisters Recipes says

    July 8, 2014 at 10:40 AM

    How wonderful and amazing your garden is! You are so lucky to grow your own veggies like this. We love all the stunning photos you post every time.
    Ciao!! Anna and Liz

    Reply
    • Roz says

      July 26, 2014 at 5:23 PM

      Thank you Liz and Anna! Hope all is well in Charleston! I’d love to get down there and visit again soon!
      Hugs,
      Roz

      Reply
  4. Laura Dembowski says

    July 8, 2014 at 12:59 PM

    Green beans are always a hit! Your roses are gorgeous! We grow a lot of flowers, but not food. We leave that to the pros at the farmers market.

    Reply
    • Roz says

      July 26, 2014 at 4:32 PM

      I totally understand how you feel about the pros at the farmers’ markets . . . there are MANY, MANY things that I have little success in growing! I leave those to the pros too! Thank you for your kind visit! I’ll be right by to see what you’re up to in your blog!
      Hugs,
      Roz

      Reply
  5. pam (Sidewalk Shoes) says

    July 8, 2014 at 1:03 PM

    Oh my goodness that view from your window is gorgeous!

    Reply
    • Roz says

      July 26, 2014 at 4:41 PM

      Thank you Pam; I’m an old soul and the best place on earth for me is in my kitchen and looking out at my gardens. It was a dream that I am now living. I’ll be right by to see what you’re cooking up!
      Hugs,
      Roz

      Reply
  6. Kitchen Belleicious says

    July 8, 2014 at 4:55 PM

    oh your garden is lovely and just beautiful and those beans are to die for. I love the dressing you used on them

    Reply
    • Roz says

      July 26, 2014 at 5:13 PM

      Oh Jessica, you are too sweet; it’s just a simple Italian dressing that works in a pinch of time. it’s been a stand-by since childhood! Hope your Saturday is going SWELL!
      Hugs,
      Roz

      Reply
  7. Betty says

    July 8, 2014 at 10:51 PM

    What a beautiful garden! I come from a gardening family too, but the deer eat everything I plant. Sigh. I get loads of fresh veggies from my brother though, and I have a big bag of beautiful green beans in my refrigerator right now. I think everyone at my house would love this salad. I will attest to the fact that all green beans actually do taste better when eaten one by one right out of the serving bowl. 🙂

    Reply
    • Roz says

      July 26, 2014 at 5:00 PM

      Hi Betty, Sounds like we have A LOT in common with family gardening backgrounds! And secondly, we have so many deer out here on the acreage that we have to continually put up fences, netting, spray plants, etc. Someday I fear, I won’t have the energy to fight them any more. Then I’ll go straight to the Farmers’ Markets!
      Hugs,
      Roz

      Reply
  8. mjskit says

    July 10, 2014 at 11:26 PM

    I won’t be picking beans for at least 2 more weeks. I can’t wait, because I’d love to give this recipe a try!

    Reply
    • Roz says

      July 26, 2014 at 4:47 PM

      Are your beans ripe yet MJ? How’s your garden doing? I’ll be right by in a moment!
      Hugs,
      Roz

      Reply
  9. Shari Kelley says

    July 14, 2014 at 4:19 PM

    What gorgeous beans! And I loved the picture of your kitchen window with the garden plants in front of it. How nice to look out on it every day, and great that it is so close for picking. The bean recipe sounds so yummy with the dressing on them. I am going to have to check to see if beans will grow in Arizona. I have never tried growing them before. Thanks for the glimpse of your kitchen garden and another wonderful recipe!

    Reply
    • Roz says

      July 26, 2014 at 5:08 PM

      You’re welcome Shari . . . glad that you have a chance to ‘cyberly’ visit my life and my kitchen and gardens! So happy to share with you!
      Hugs,
      Roz

      Reply

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Welcome!

Welcome!

Ciao, I'm Roz!
From my family's kitchens and restaurants in the U.S. and Italy, I share classic, delicious recipes . . . and always served with 'amore'! I'll help you master the art of cooking with easy to follow instructions and cooking tips. Get ready for the compliments! Buon Appetito!

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