Variations on a Bean

The September 8 issue Boston Globe Magazine included some recipes for green beans, which we are finding an abundance of in our CSA farm box the last few weeks. I selected the "Bacon Braised Green Beans with Potatoes" for our Sunday meal. The beans were straight from the farm, as were the potatoes, albeit a different farm than the beans. I cut the recipe by about a third, since there were only two of us. I began by browning four slices of bacon, then removing them to drain on a paper towel. I removed some of the bacon fat from the indispensable cast-iron dutch oven, but left enough to use to sautee two sliced onions. To this I added one clove of minced garlic, and a bit of fresh thyme. Also added into the pot was some prepared, organic chicken broth (about 1.5 cups) and 1/4 t. baking soda. The beans were added next and simmered for about 10 minutes, then a can of tomato paste. One piece of the bacon was broken into two pieces and added back to the pot, along with the potatoes. The potatoes were small, and cut in half. Everything was cooked, covered for about 30 minutes, until the potatoes were soft. The remaining bacon pieces were chopped into smaller pieces, as were some scallions. I divided the contents of the pot onto two plates, and topped with the bacon and scallions. It was a good fall dish. I did notice that the sliced onions seemed to have disintegrated into the rest of the cooked food. The flavor was definitely there, but the slices were not to be found.