French Green Beans

I have a small but super sunny backyard. It's so sunny that it's hard to keep the grass green. I had grown some herbs and vegetables in the past, but I decided to dig up a section and create a vegetable garden this year. My husband worked hard on this project even though he wasn't particularly fired up about the idea of eating more vegetables.

I planted tomatoes, Japanese eggplant, French green beans, a variety of lettuce, kale, green onions, endives, peppers, thyme, oregano, chive, basil, Thai basil, cilantro, and okra. Unfortunately, it's been a cold summer here in Seattle area except for the last few days. It hasn't been a good season for my roses and vegetables. (My hydrangeas are doing wonderful though.) It's been fun watching what I planted grow everyday. I finally harvested some French green beans yesterday! Aren't they beautiful?

I like French green beans better than regular green beans. They are more tender and flavorful. I don't usually see them in a regular grocery store. Sometimes I buy a bag of frozen ones from Trader Joe's. Eating locally raised food is a growing trend because they are harvested when they are ripe and contain more nutritional values. You can't get more local than this! I don't have the time nor place to grow everything I need. I still need to make my weekly trip to a farmer's market and grocery store. But there's something magical about eating what you grow whether you are a vegan or not. I grew up in a big and industrial city where you don't see anyone growing anything. It's so fascinating to see how one seed can grow into so many fruits and vegetables.

Here's a picture of my green beans when they were babies. They are so adorable! Maybe I'm little crazy for taking a picture of them. I don't have any problem eating them though.