My (current) Favorite Snack

Remember when I was posting healthy Chinese food recipes? And then just stopped. That's because I'm not much of a cook in the summer. I hate cooking when it's hot out. We eat a lot of grilled (and apparently therefore carcinogenic) meat in the summer because I'm too lazy to turn on the stove. But, Cooking with Em is back...temporarily.

I love P.F. Chang's Spicy Green Beans. My friend Ravi introduced me to them. But you know how I feel about Chinese food - looove it, don't love its effect on my thighs.

So, I did what I always do - made my own, minus the frying. They're my (current) favorite snack. Or dinner when I've overindulged at lunch...it happens. Mr. B doesn't eat Green Beans. He claims to be allergic. He's so not allergic to green beans. Boys - especially those who like to act tough - are sometimes not tough at all. So, until I can convince the man that I adore and chose to spend the rest of my life with that he's a sissymissing out, this is more of an on-my-own-night snack/dinner. Wow, totally overdid the italics in this paragraph.

Here's what you'll need to make your own healthier - although as Chinese food goes, the restaurant version of this is fairly healthy - version of Chang's Spicy Green Beans:

1/2 lb - 1 lb Green beans.

You're going to need to trim and steam your beans. Now, I don't give a hoot about the effects of microwaving plastic on my food - I just can't live my life scared of that stuff. For that reason, I usually make this snack with microwave steam and eat green beans and skip the trimming and cooking. This time I used fresh (my microwave beans weren't on sale) - so I snapped off the ends, and steamed them for 5 minutes. Your choice. Whatever toots your horn.

Soy sauce. This is a snack I concocted based on the flavors at Changs, so use your best judgment based on how many beans you're making. If you're a saucy minx, try 3 tablespoons . If you're a sodium freak, try 1 T of low-sod. You get the drift.

Garlic. You know the drill. I like a lot, some people like a little. Your call. I'd say 1 clove is perf, I do 2 - 3 depending on how many beans I plan to stuff down my throat.

Honey. I just squeeze some into the bottom of the bowl. Not too much cause I like the zest of the soy sauce and garlic.

Chili Powder and Red Pepper Flakes. I've seen a similar recipe online that calls for chili sauce instead of these two, and that's good, too. I still add the red pepper flakes. This was how I originally concocted this recipe, and this works just fine.

Optional: Vinegar - if you really want to add a little bite, toss in some vinegar, it's totally unnecessary, but I like it. Keep out the bottle so you can clean your kitchen floors afterwards. I love vinegar.

So now, here's how to pull it all together. It's pretty tough. Are you ready?

I did not mince my garlic for this rendition because I was starving, out of preminced garlic and too cranky from hunger lazy to find the garlic crusher. But for future reference, mincing is better.

Microwave (or snap and steam if you're all about living to be 150) your beans. While that's happening, mix all of your ingredients - the soy sauce, garlic, honey, spices - and your optional vinegar if you want.

When your beans are steamed, toss them in a skillet (no oil) and pour the sauce over them. Toss the beans around, let them get nice and coated, and let the sauce simmer a bit. This is incredibly scientific.

After 3-ish minutes, put your beans in a bowl, sit down, and gobble them up. Then use your fingers to soak up any leftover sauce and lick them. You have to, it's a rule.