Green Beans, Forrest Gump, and Julie Andrews

At least once a season, I like to take time to talk a little about some fruit or vegetable that we generally take for granted. I do this for two reasons. First, as we've all come to understand, plants have feelings like the rest of us and they don't like being taken for granted any more than you and me. Secondly, I think it's important to know a little something about what we put in our mouth. With that in mind, let's turn our attention to green beans.

Green beans are eaten just about everywhere in the world and can be cooked in many ways. You may perhaps remember Bubba, a friend and soldier buddy of Forrest Gump. Some people think Forrest Gump was simply the name of a movie. Not so. Forrest Gump and all his friends were as real as anyone. They were just lucky enough to have a cameraman follow them around for most of their lives. I thought it was sad when Jenny died. I also thought Forrest's mother bore a striking resemblance to Sally Field.

Bubba used to say that shrimp could be cooked in a variety of ways. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, and saute it. There's shrimp kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan fried, deep fried and stir fried. Bubba might as well have been talking about green beans. My favorite preparation is the casserole often served at Thanksgiving. Its primary ingredients are green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and French fried onions. When you break down its nutritional value it's probably not the healthiest thing on the planet. On the other hand, it may be the healthiest dish served at Thanksgiving. I don't think creamed onions or mashed potato with gravy is exactly Weight Watchers material.

Green beans are full of lutein, beta-carotene, violaxanthin, and neoxanthin. I have no idea what that all means, but my next door neighbor Justin works for Pfizer and I bet he does.

I read somewhere that green beans taste best when they are "skinnier than a pencil." For some reason green beans are always associated with thinness. If I were to ask you to imagine someone named "Mr. Bean", you would probably visualize a rather slender individual. Associating a vegetable with how a person looks is not uncommon. Imagine a woman named "Mrs. Potatohead." See what I mean.

Green beans can be divided in two groups - bush beans and pole beans. A lot of Democrats refuse to eat bush beans. Some people just don't know when to stop. Other folks like to make jokes about pole beans. This is no longer considered to be socially acceptable, although most people I know like a good pole bean joke once in awhile.

Beans have a growing cycle of about 50 days. You should know this as it can save you some embarrassment at a farmers market. If in May you ask a farmer if he has fresh green beans, you are asking if he planted in the snow and frozen ground back in March. If he looks at you like you're an idiot it's because you are.

During World War II a lot of folks had Victory Gardens. These were primarily backyard gardens that provided fresh produce for those on the home front. This allowed commercial growers to supply produce for the troops overseas. During this time there were all sorts of green beans grown, but nary a yellow bean. Because of the war with the "Yellow Menace" Japan, growing yellow beans was considered giving "comfort to the enemy". When we look in the rearview mirror we can only laugh. I wonder what that mirror will reveal 70 years from now. If you close your eyes real tight and project out 70 years I think you'll be able to hear the laughter.

There are over 130 varieties of green beans. I would list them all, but I've already taken up too much space with the ways to cook shrimp. That's what happens when you ramble on about something that has nothing to do with the matter at hand. I did hear though that Forrest Gump's original bench was in Savannah Georgia but they took it away because people always kept trying to steal it. I bet some of you thought Forrest's mother bore a striking resemblance to Sally Field too.

Calvin Keeney bred the first "stringless" bean in 1894. He is called the "father of the stringless bean." When he walked down the street people would point at him and say, "Hey, there goes the father of the stringless bean". It would be a day that the children would remember and tell their own grandchildren about.

In the United States 60% of commercially grown green beans come from Illinois, Michigan, New York, Oregon and Wisconsin. I was born in Wisconsin. That has nothing to do with green beans, but I thought you might find it interesting.

That's all we have time for today. I hope you enjoyed this brief moment together and we'll talk more next week.

It's All Julie Andrews to Me

According to a number of readers I made the huge mistake last week of attributing a quote to Mary Poppins that should have been attributed to Fraulein Maria. I was wrong and I admit it. I hope everyone is happy now. I also hope everyone gets to see The Great American Mousical directed by Julie Andrews opening November 8th at the Norma Terris Theater in Chester. I love Julie Andrews. My favorite movie of hers was Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Guest Vendors

Let's start with the Lyme Garden Club. These are real nice ladies who are into gardening and making the Town of Lyme look real pretty. In April you can see all the daffodils they planted springing up all over the roadside. Besides growing flowers, their friends tell me that they also grow some pretty dynamite weed. They won't be selling any bud at the market, but they will be selling a bunch of other stuff. 

Pam Fuller will be here with her shell and sea glass wind chimes. I don't think she smokes pot, but I'll have to ask her. I can't imagine spending time at the beach collecting sea glass without a good buzz on.

Robin Thomas is returning with Peaceable Beads. This is real good jewelry but I think she sets her price points too low. This means you can get a great buy from her. Come take advantage of Robin on Saturday.

Annie Chittenden shows up with Kindknit Artisans. All the profits from these little knitted goods go to local charities. Annie is probably trying to buy herself into heaven for all the bad things she did in her misspent youth.

Next up we have Barb Shnoeck with her retro aprons and stuff. She gets away with "I love Lucy" and Elvis aprons without being cheesy. Your family and neighbors will all be envious of you if you buy one. Forget what it says in the Bible. Having people envious of you is a good thing. I think the Prophet Martha Stewart may have said that.

Let's welcome Lauren Robertson of Caledonia Fine Arts. It all sounds pretty impressive. I hope she serves white wine and little hot dogs in a bun like the galleries do.

Last but certainly not least, Krissie Brescio and Bernie Garrity are coming to sell raffle tickets for the big St John School's fund raiser. This year's first prize is a brand new red CORVETTE! That's right, a Corvette, not a sleazy Mustang like they raffled off last year. I know Krissie and Bernie pretty well. They send their kids to Catholic school in the hope the kids don't turn out like the mothers. I bet Krissie and Bernie think that Forrest Gump's mother bore a striking resemblance to the Flying Nun.

Farmers Markets Around The World

Translate this to sharpen your language skills and make this world a little bit smaller: It helps to know a little Thai.  ละเว้นไฟมาจากปากของฉัน เพียงแค่ผ่านไปลาบราดและเบียร์อีก 

Polish translation from last week: Yes, I can see that your wife gained her strength from eating your potatoes. Now, can she put me down?

Questions or Comments? Email Chip at Ashlawn@comcast.net