Recipes for August 16, 2008:

Quick Dilly Beans

1 lb fresh green beans, cleaned and kept whole
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup water
1 T mustard seeds
1 T fresh dill
2-3 cloves garlic, minced (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Cayenne pepper to taste

Put all in a big pot with a lid. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and let simmer for 5-10 minutes to your desired degree of tender-crispness. Remove from heat. Do not drain.

When cool, move to a closed container (recycled spaghetti jar or casserole dish with lid) and put in the refrigerator. They will last about a week or so and taste best after they have sat for a day. Make sure you put the beans AND juice in the container, like pickles.

No-cook tomato sauce
Serves 2 —4

2 pounds medium to large ripe tomatoes (3—6 tomatoes, depending on size)
2 whole cloves of garlic, peeled
6 stems of fresh basil
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan
1 box pasta, your favorite shape

Core tomatoes with a sharp knife, chop them into small chunks and place them in a glass or stainless steel bowl.

Finely chop garlic and add it to the tomatoes.

Remove the basil leaves from their stems, stack them and snip them into strips with scissors, and add to the tomatoes and garlic.

Add the olive oil and toss again.

Let the mixture rest in a cool spot in your kitchen for about 2 hours. Do not refrigerate.

Cook the pasta and drain it. Season the tomato sauce with salt and black pepper and add the pasta to the sauce. Add chopped pitted olives if desired.

Toss the mixture and serve immediately. Top with Parmersan to taste.