Get A Good -- Green beans with lamb

Are you looking for a way to use up all your garden green and pole beans? Why not try some Get A Good.

One of my all time favorite green bean recipes is called Lubee alaham, but in our family it is known as Get A Good. I'm not certain how this name came about, but I can guarantee you it surely is very good. My sister introduced this bean stew to the family when her husband's Armenian grandmother brought it to the table. It was always made during the summer months when fresh green beans and ripened tomatoes were plentiful and then typically served over rice pilaf, or steamed bulgar wheat but during the cooler months I've even served it over creamy polenta.

You can prepare this with ground lamb, cubed lamb pieces or even just lamb bones, as Nana did, so when your having that leg of lamb boned at your butchers market--tell him you want the bones saved. This week I picked up some seasoned Italian lamb sausage at farmers market that was just scrumptious in this meal. Bush green beans are fine to use, but I find the young pole beans or flat Italian green beans both excellent in texture and flavor.

This dish tastes even better the next day, after the flavors have a chance to intensify. Oh yes, a loaf of crusty bread to mop up the flavorful juices goes great with this, too!

Get A Good - Green Beans with lamb

1 lb.seasoned ground lamb
2 TBLS olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. crushed dried basil
1 tsp. crushed dried oregano
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 lb. fresh green beans or Italian pole beans--washed and trimmed
2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced
1 cup roma tomatoes, or half a can tomato paste

In a skillet, brown meat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Drain any excess fat. Place meat in a bowl & set aside. Using the same skillet, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil until soft and slightly brown.. Return the meat to the skillet with the onions. Add salt, ground pepper, allspice, basil, and oregano.. Cover & cook 10 more minutes.

In a large pot, add the green beans. Stir in the tomatoes, and the tomato paste over the green beans and stir. Add the meat mixture to the green beans and bring to a gentle boil, then cover and simmer for 1 hour, or more until beans are fork tender. Serve over rice pilaf or steamed bulgur. Enjoy!

Summer in a jar--Amaretto peach jam

Every summer, I wait patiently for the summer peaches to arrive at market. I slice and freeze a bunch for winter galettes, preserve halves in light syrup or make a peach butter and then there's jam. Glorious peach jam! Peaches have become one of those fruits that is nearly always available, but they are only this delicious in the month of and August in our neck of the woods. You know the ones I mean--the kind that when you first bite into them, those scrumptious juices drip down onto your chin. Those mealy, impenetrable fruits that you pay a small fortune for during the winter just can’t possibly compare.

Of all the jams and jellies I put up each summer, peach jam is right up there at the top of my list. I like to flavor mine with Amaretto and nutmeg and enjoy it served over muffins, as a filling in my torte cakes, Christmas thumbprint cookies, over biscuits or just from the spoon. Last week when I finished making my last batch, I had run out of canning jars, so had some jam left over and as I was making yet another zucchini bread also that morning, I decided to add it into my batter. What a delicious surprise!




This weekend will probably be the last week I'll be able to get fresh peaches here, so I'm going to try a habanero peach jelly. So if you want to put some summer into a jar, head off to your local farmer's market and pick up some wonderful fresh peaches before it's too late.

Amaretto Peach Jam

5 cups of peaches, unpeeled and chopped
2 lemons, zested and juiced
5 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1 cup wildflower honey
1/2 tsp butter
1 1/2 packets Certo liquid pectin
1/4 cup Amaretto liqueur

Fill your canning pot with water and begin to bring it to a light boil.. Wash your jars and rings in warm soapy water and set aside. Put your lids in a small pot of water and heat in order to soften the sealing compound.



Add peaches,sugar and honey to a large, non-reactive pot. Stir so that the peaches begin to release their juice and mingle with the sugar. Bring to a boil and add the nutmeg, lemon zest,juice and butter and let jam continue to cook for about ten minutes. If the fruit hasn’t broken down much after that time is up, use a potato masher or immersion blender to break down the chunks. Add Certo and liqueur and bring to a rolling boil for a full five minutes.

Turn off the heat under the jam, skim any foam off and fill jars. Wipe rims and apply lids. Screw on the bands and lower into the water. Process in the hot water bath 10 minutes. When time is up, remove from water and cool on the counter under a tea towel. This recipe makes approximately 5-6 half pint jars. Enjoy!