String Beans with Bacon

**We have been growing my favorite string beans in our garden. You may be a little surprised to see that they are purple. They are slightly sweeter than regular green beans, but otherwise taste the same and will turn green after cooking. Carri's little one was pretty excited to help me pick purple beans--so excited that she was eating them raw! You may notice from the photo that I snapped the stem end of the beans. If you are using fresh beans then you will want to do the same, making sure that you pull the attached "string" off with the stem (you will notice a fibrous string along the side that will come off when you try to "snap" the stem off. It's similar to celery strings). You can snap the other end if you would like, I left it on because I think it is prettier than a broken end. These pretty beans are also "magic" --at least for the kids; they turn green when you cook them! This recipe can be made with fresh or canned string beans.

***Note from Carrian~~Purple beans make me think of home and gardening every summer. Our hands would turn purple from picking and canning beans during the summer. Isn't it funny how something you hated as a kid somehow becomes something you miss?***

String Beans with Bacon
recipe by: Jennifer and my mother-in-law

If you are using fresh string beans:

Wash the beans, snap the ends and remove the string. Steam beans for 7-10 min. or until tender.

For canned or fresh beans that have been prepared as instructed above.

Cook 1-2 pieces of bacon per serving. Crumble and return to frying pan (you can sop up the extra grease, or leave a little bit for extra flavor). Put beans in frying pan and add about 1 TBL brown sugar per serving (or until it tastes good to you). Stir together until sugar is melted & flavors have blended (about 1-2 min). Serve immediately.

*Tip*
I keep a bag of pre-cooked and crumbled bacon in the fridge. When I use this produce I like to heat a tsp or so of olive oil in the frying pan, then add the bacon. This helps to diffuse the bacon flavor into the oil and thus onto the beans. It also helps to coat the beans with the sugar.