Ginger Green Beans with Cashews

Sometimes the garden gives you delicious gifts such as these green beans that volunteered to sprout in my garden. I love it when that happens! My green beans were planted in succession. The harvest was wonderful but I had to pull the plants due to spider mites. I decided not to plant more then the volunteers appeared, and these plants faired much better. It seems the spider mites were bad during the early summer and not as bad in August/Sept. That's good to know for next year. I will continue to sow green beans until August, or maybe the volunteers will be back and save me the effort.

These vegan stir fry green beans are quick and easy, with added protein from cashew butter and cashews. You could easily substitute peanut butter or another type of nut. I enjoy the cashews because their sweetness combines well with ginger. 

I love ginger. It finds its way into my food because it is delicious but also because of its anti inflammatory and anti nausea benefits. I recently planted ginger in my garden for the first time. Read more about growing ginger and its health benefits here. 

I apologize that there are no exact measurements with this recipe, I just sort of estimate how much to add. It's the "add a little of this, and a little of that" approach to cooking that I learned from my husband who is a gourmet cook. He taught me to cook. I'm a lucky girl.

1 tablespoon Peanut Oil, or substitute another type of oil such as olive.

Green Beans a couple of handfuls, rinsed, dried then cut if desired.

1/2 to 1 tablespoon Ginger, peeled and minced. The more, the spicier.

2-3 tablespoons Cashew Butter 

1 tablespoon Soy Sauce

1/3 Cashews, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup Cilantro, coarsely chopped, plus one sprig for garnish.

1 tablespoon Sesame Seeds

Heat the oil over medium heat. 

Add the ginger and stir for 3-4 minutes taking care not to burn it. 

Add the green beans and stir another 3-4 minutes until the beans are slightly cooked. I like mine to be al dente.

Push the green beans to the edge of the pan and add the cashew butter and soy sauce to the center of the pan.

Stir the soy sauce into the cashew butter then mix it with the green beans to coat them.

My apologies for the poor quality of these photos. I have yet to develop the ability to take nice pictures without burning the food.

Add the cashews and stir fry another 2 minutes to heat the nuts.

Remove from the heat and place in serving dish.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and cilantro, then garnish with a sprig of cilantro.

Now let's have a toast to the volunteers. "Cheers!"