Summery Green Beans!!

Its a been lovely last few days sun shining brightly thorough out the house.. I have spent most of my time in the garden either reading or looking after my plants.. am blessed to be in the place I am right now its just perfect! Cooking in such a beautiful weather has been fun too.. Have been trying some nice and light salads.. am avoiding soups because they remind me of winter which by the way is just round the corner :) Until then am enjoying the sun on my face and in the plate :) I russelled up a green bean stir fry today and it turned out quite delicious.. I went topping it up as I went along. Started with a very basic recipe but all the other ingredients helped as I went along. I dont measure everything in spoons just add things by the measure of eye but I have tried to give some rough measurements.. So here's your shopping list if you want to try it, this serves 2 as a side dish or for 1 as a main meal:

1. 150 gms of long fresh green beans..make sure they are really fresh and tender the fresher they are the better they taste. With gardens or allotments spilling with all kinds of beans this is a perfect recipe.
2. pinch of dry chilli flakes or 1 medium dry red chilli finely chopped
3. 1 medium size garlic clove finely chopped
4. tiny piece of ginger finely chopped or you can cut it in match sticks if you like an enhanced ginger flavour.
5. a good pinch of sesame seeds
6. Coarsely ground black pepper
7. Sesame Oil to drizzle
8. Peanut Oil - 1 tea spoon
9. Dark Soy sauce
10. Balsamic Vinegar (optional)
11. a table spoon or crushed peanuts or teaspoon of crunchy peanut butter.
12. kosher salt - to taste, add just a little because soy is salty too and during the recipe when we boil the beans we will add a pinch of salt there too.
13. a pinch of sugar
14. Lime or Lemon
15. A good pinch of Chinese five spice (optional)

Lets get sort of cooking, because there is very little to cook :)

1. Wash the beans thoroughly and get rid of the tips.
2. Drop the beans in boiling water and a pinch of salt
3. Lets the beans boil for 2-3 mins, we need to retain the crunch of the beans so do not cook them for long.
4. Drain the beans and drop them in ice cold water, this will stop cooking them further.
5. Set the beans aside.
6. Put a wok on high heat, once the wok is hot everything needs to happen in a fast motion else the spices and the garlic will burn and the bean will not taste great. Make sure everything you need is by your hand or accessible immediately.
7. Once the wok is steaming hot, add peanut oil, garlic, ginger and chilli flakes, let them sit for a second or 2.
8. Once you see the garlic turning slightly brown drop the beans in.
9. Add the five spice, salt, pepper, sesame seeds, peanuts / peanut butter, sugar and give it all a good toss
10. Cook them on high heat for about a min.
11. Turn off the heat.
12. Drizzle sesame oil, soy sauce, dash of balsamic vinegar and a squeeze some lime or lemon not too tart though. Lime freshens everything up nicely!
13. Give it another good toss and you are ready to plate up :)
14. All this takes less than 10 mins and trust me you will smile when you crunch the first bean :)

Please leave your comments if you like the recipe or happen to try it.. it will motivate me to write more and cook more :-)