Green Beans

I recently learned that green beans and snap peas are allowed on the Paleo AIP diet. I've been so grateful that I can now eat snap peas. I love to buy bags of snap peas and eat them with breakfast or lunch.

Green beans are also a great addition to my diet and now that I can eat them I am more likely to prepare them with dinner. However, for Pineapple's palate, I must make sure to get them just right; if they don't have the right texture, or are slimy, she absolutely will not eat them. And to be honest, now that I know what good green beans are like, I don't enjoy them any other way.

Here is how I cook the green beans to get them perfect every time:

Tools

• Pot -- large enough to contain the green beans
• Large bowl -- large enough to contain the green beans
• Strainer/slotted spoon
• Timer -- usually the microwave so you can't ignore it

Ingredients

• green beans, rinsed and trimmed (they may come pre-trimmed or you may need to cut the tips off of the beans)
• Water
• Ice: optional
• Salt: optional. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is easy to apply via pinching

Directions

1. Fill the pot about half way with water
2. Optional: add a pinch of salt (to taste, Pineapple prefers less)
3. Place the pot on a burner set to high
4. Prepare the green beans while the water is getting to a rolling boil
1. Rinse the green beans
2. Trim the ends of the beans if needed
5. Once the water is at a rolling boil, add the green beans
6. Set a timer for 6 minutes
7. While you are waiting, prepare an ice bath
1. Put some cold water in the large bowl
2. Add some ice to it
8. When the timer finishes, immediately remove the pot from the burner and strain the beans
9. Dump the strained beans into the ice bath
10. After a minute or two in the ice bath, you can transfer the green beans to a serving dish
11. Serve and enjoy!

Measuring Perfection

When you have perfect green beans you will know it because when you eat one it will squeak as you crunch down on it with your molars. If the bean is too hard to crunch down on then you didn't cook it long enough, or at a high enough temperature; a rolling boil is important for this and the 6-minute timing is crucial. If the bean is too mushy, or none of them squeak, then you may need to work on ways to get those beans into an ice bath sooner; You need the beans to cook for 6 minutes and then to stop cooking as soon as possible.

Ice  Bath

The purpose of the ice bath is to stop the green beans from cooking. It is the continued presence of heat after the beans are sufficiently cooked which causes them to get mushy and distasteful. That's why it is important to quickly transfer the green beans to the ice bath as soon as the timer finishes.

You might consider this same approach for microwave-steamed vegetables; when the vegetables finish cooking in the microwave, drain out the hot water and fill the container with cold water (i.e. straight from the tap).

By the way, after I got comfortable with this the ice bath, I stopped using ice. Now, when the timer goes off, I remove the pot from the heat, put a strainer in it, drain out all the hot water and then pour in the cold water (sometimes straight from the tap, but I prefer to use a bowl of water first). I get the same thing accomplished in less time. When getting started, an ice bath allows you to take a little longer (but not a lot) because the water is colder so it will stop the cooking more quickly.