Bean, Broccoli, and Red Pepper Soup

We need to harvest some yard long beans at least once a week now to keep up with them. I have been using them in various dishes – mostly grilled vegetables on the BBQ and raw in salads.

Yard long bean plant

Yesterday, I used about 8 of the bean pods and made a vegan soup of yard long beans and broccoli.

Yard long beans

Ingredients included:

Yard long beans
Broccoli
2 small red bell peppers (also from the garden)
2 cups (?) vegetable broth
1-2 tbs olive oil
1/3 red onion

First, I sauteed the onion in olive oil for about 10 minutes until nice & soft. I then added some chopped yard long beans, broccoli, and bell peppers and sauteed a few minutes more.

Sauteing beans, broccoli and peppers

I added enough vegetable broth to just reach the tops of the vegetables, seasoned with a little salt & pepper, and covered and simmered about 20 minutes until everything was really soft.

Well-cooked beans, broccoli, and peppers

I put it all in a blender and pureed. It was pretty thick at first, so I had to add more vegetable broth until I got the right creamy consistency. Also added salt and pepper to taste.

Bean and broccoli soup with side of paratha

I served with a side of malabari paratha from Trader Joe’s – great for tearing and dipping in soup.

The soup was really nice, and so simple. You really don’t need the butter and cream to make a creamy, hearty soup.

 

Mixed Bean & Vegetable Salad

This salad was packed with goodness. No dressing – just seasoned with mint, parsley, a  squeeze of lemon, and salt & pepper.

From the garden:

Yard long beans
Cucumber
Mexi bell pepper
Banana pepper
Jalapenos
Cherry tomatoes
Peppermint

And also:

Pinto, black, and kidney beans
Olives
Avocado
Corn off the cob
Celery
Shredded carrots
Shredded cheddar & mozzarella cheese
Green leaf lettuce
Italian parsley
Squeeze of lemon juice
Salt & pepper

Spicy Lentils and Vegetables

I made this dish last night. It was one of the rare occasions I cooked with lentils, but it turned out really nicely. I think I will start cooking with lentils more often…

I wanted to use some peppers since we have so many of them, also some cherry tomatoes and yard long beans that needed to be harvested. Two of the yard long beans were past their prime – the skins were getting wrinkly – so for them I just took the beans out and composted the skin.

This is approximately what I used – the ingredients with an asterisk* were fresh from the garden.

It made approx. 2 servings.

1 cup dried lentils
3 small hot peppers* (I used 1 jalapeno, 1 fresno, 1 poblano)
3 small mild peppers* (I used a red bell and 2 banana peppers)
5 cherry tomatoes*
6 yard long beans
6 baby carrots
1 stalk of celery
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup red onion
3 springs of Italian parsley
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tbs. olive oil

I rinsed the lentils and simmered them in water loosely covered for 15-20 minutes.

I chopped the garlic and olive oil, and cut all the vegetables into small pieces, removing some (but not all) of the seeds from the hot peppers. I sauteed the garlic and onion in olive oil, soon adding the harder vegetables – carrots and celery.

After about 3 minutes, I added the rest of the vegetables along with a 1/4 cup of the vegetable broth. I let everything cook on medium, and as liquid was dissolved I just added more broth.

Vegetables simmering on medium

When the vegetables were just about cooked, I mixed in the lentils, adding more broth and cooking more until the liquid was mostly dissolved. I added fresh ground salt and black pepper to taste. As a final touch, I chopped the parsley and mixed it in. Ready to serve.

The flavors were nice. Just the mix of vegetables and lentils alone have a nice flavor, but the garlic, onion, and spiciness of the peppers added a nice kick.

First Yard Long Beans

The yard long bean plant has been doing well (see recent growth). This week, we had some grow enough that I just had to harvest them and have a taste.

It was just two beans so I couldn’t do much with them. I just chopped them and sauteed in a little bit of olive oil for a few minutes.

Then added some pre-made potato leek soup and simmered until hot.

They had a nice flavor – the rumors are true that they have a similar taste to asparagus. Also they were nice and crunchy even after cooking. They didn’t get soft like bush beans usually do.

I’m looking forward to getting a bit more creative with them once we have a significant harvest. There are at least 4 more beans growing so I think we’ll be in good shape pretty soon.

Growth of Yard Long Bean and Edamame Plants

Just wanted to show a couple of photos that show how quickly these plants have grown in just a few weeks (we planted seed at the end of July). They both are getting flowers and it shouldn’t be too long now before they produce some fruit…

Yard long bean plants

Edamame plants