Roasted green beans ROCK

[thistlechaser]

I went to the farmer's market this morning, and since I'm more serious about eating vegetables, I bought green beans yet again. Just a few, figuring I'd not like them. I washed half, cut the ends off, and then cut them into less scary sizes roughly bite sized pieces. I tosses them with a little olive oil, salt/pepper, and what I worried was too much garlic. I baked at 425 for 15 minutes, tossing once in the middle.

Roasted green beans are to green beans as roasted kale chips are to kale. Nothing at all like them, it was like eating a chip or something.

I ate every single green bean before I took the first bite of my chicken. I would have happily eaten more. (And sadly my chicken is overcooked again. Suddenly I can't cook chicken anymore!)

In other news, someone on my friendsfriends list posts a quote of the day. Today's makes me rage:

"Those who have 'something to fall back on,' invariably fall back on it. They intended to all along. That's why they provided themselves with it. But those with no alternative see the world differently... Those of you with nothing to fall back on, you will find, are home."

-David Mamet

GRR! No! Having something to fall back on is SMART. It's called covering your bases! Being prepared! Arg!

Comments

[aliceinazeroth.livejournal.com]

Mmm. Green beans!

[redtangents.livejournal.com]

I am intrigued by your baked green beans idea. Subscribing to your newsletter.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I still have the other half of them left, so hopefully I can reproduce this tomorrow!

[veloxe.livejournal.com]

I have an addendum to the quote:

"... Those of you with nothing to fall back on, you will find, are home... huddled in the corner with their materials goods for fear that anything unexpected will happen to them. For if it does, they will be well and truly screwed."

Isn't the point of having something to fall back on to have something to fall back on when you fall back? I mean, obviously you need to be smart and truly use it for a "rainy day" type situation. Not just because you want a new car (want, not need) or anything like that.

If you never needed something to fall back on you are either incredibly lucky, some sort of master of foresight who has sidestepped everything, insanely rich, or like 4.

Off Topic: Megamind is on netflix (at least it just arrived on Canadian Netflix), I watched it. I really like it, good movie.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Darned good addition on that quote.

And yay! Glad you liked Megamind! I had enjoyed it, too!

[fealubryne.livejournal.com]

Mm, green beans. There's fun stuff you can do with green beans. What you did reminds me of what my (vegetarian) aunt does with brussel sprouts - puts them into a baking dish, adds olive oil, salt/pepper, and garlic (just like your beans!) and then bakes them until they taste like the most awesome thing ever. I've also had green beans done in a slow cooker (those things are AWESOME, do you have one?) with ham and potatoes, so everything takes on the taste of of the ham. Dunno if you've ever tried that, but it's epic. Put everything in the crock pot/slow cooker before you leave for work, let it stew all day, and come home to a fantastic meal. Crock pots are wonderful. /tangent

And yes. I completely agree with you on that quote. Not having anything to fall back on is stupid - when you get into trouble you're screwed. Yes, you're probably seeing the world differently, if by differently you mean you're suddenly desperate and willing to do just about anything to save yourself. The number of times we've scraped by nasty situations simply because we've been stashing resources to fall back on... It's not like it requires a lot of sacrifice, work, or whatever. And having it available can make a, "Fuck, we're screwed." moment into a, "Well, this isn't good... but it could be worse." moment.

Hopefully this time my comment will post! Even if it's rambley and stupid because I'm half awake at the moment. So apologies if it's less than coherent.

[aliceinazeroth.livejournal.com]

Roasted brussels sprouts are amazing. CRUNCHY

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I've heard that way of doing brussel sprouts is good! But I'm not brave enough to try them yet, I think. :P

I do love my crock pot! I've not had success making vegetables in mine yet though. (But that ham idea sounds yummy!)

And exactly, totally agreed on the quote.

[hammerstorm.livejournal.com]

I feel a tad bit offended.

"No! Having something to fall back on is SMART."

So if a person don't have something to fall back on, circumstantially, they are stupid? Some pretty drastic things can happen in life, you can have the carpet pulled out form under your feet, you can have every safety blanket you worked on and behind crash, and if you cannot deal with what comes next - then you have a problem.

I apologies if I come off as harsh, but this strikes on a very personal level. The quote itself is pretty redundant and weak, but does have a point to it. You can't cover all of your bases all the time.


/huff :

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I think we're reading things differently. David Mamet is saying that having something to fall back on is bad, that if you have that, you're intending to fail. I'm saying having something to fall back on and failing are two totally different things. Having something to fall back on is good, it is a safety net. However, can anyone have a safety net all the time? No.

Like you said, bad things happen. No one can have backup plans all the time, but to say that having a backup plan means you intend to fail (which is what that person is saying) is wrong.

[ashmedai.livejournal.com]

Easy for David Mamet to say. If I win the Pulitzer Prize I might agree, but not before. Smart-ass. :|

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yep, agreed. "Why save any money! If you do, it means that you're INTENDING to lose your job and need it!"

[voidmagus.livejournal.com]

Counterquote - Pray for help, but row for shore.

Yea, I have backup plans for pretty much everything. Always have an exit strategy, and an exit strategy for your exit strategy, etc. I can't cover every possibility, but I can try. If I lose my job, I have people to call for another one. If they can't come through, I have freelance jobs always at the ready. If those all fall through, I have savings/investments. If all those are nullified, there are bigger problems in play than "Lost my job and many people I know"...At that point, we open the "Fall of Society" book of plans.

By planning for the potential fall of western civilization, does that mean I honestly expect it to happen/cause it to happen?


Also, green beans. Yum. One of my favorite personal recipes is haricot vert (skinny french beans), sauteed in butter & garlic and sprinkled with some cajun spices. Crispy, spicy, buttery, garlicky.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Exactly. I like having plans. No one can plan for everything, but it's good to have backup ideas when you can.

Hmmmm, that sounds like a good (and easier) way to make the green beans. I'd like to get skinnier ones, but the farmer's market only had the one kind this week.