Blackened Greenbeans

I can't deny that the name of this dish makes it suspect and an obvious candidate for my "Blooming Catastrophes" web page. My old student Mike Hellwich told me about this simple dish and I decided to try it. It has met with rave reviews from friends and family. My neice, Laura Beth Ross, begs me to make it every time she visits. This dish is perfect in the height of summer when you have no more energy to can yet another jar and you still have green beans pouring from your garden. A trip to the farmer's market is also a good way to prep yourself for this dish if you're gardenless.

Ingredients:

A huge mess of fresh green beans (snapped into 1 1/2 inch pieces), enough to fill a wok to the top.
1/4 cup of oil that can stand high heat (like peanut or canola). AVOID BUTTER OR OLIVE OIL
4-6 cloves of crushed garlic, more if you're adventuresome
a 2-inch piece of fresh garlic, grated, (or more if you like your beans with a kick)
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari

Put your wok on high heat and let it get "smoking hot." Dump your green beans into the wok, then add the oil. Start stirring. You'll be at it a while. Let the beans blister and turn brown. This could take 10 minutes for all the beans. As they start turn really dark but not charred, move the wok off the heat and add the garlic, ginger, and soysauce. Stir 'em up again and serve.

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