Without an extensive search of my photo archives, I needed to come up with a photo for today. This is good for me because it makes me create a winning dinner. Although John did a great job on the pork by cooking it in a really slow oven and then searing it for a crust and I spent time frenching the green beans, the real star of the dinner was the butternut squash. After John split the squash and gutted the seeds, I roasted it in a 400 degree oven for about an hour and then scraped out the flesh. The butternut squash was enhanced by salt, pepper, nutmeg and some butter spray. The squash itself happened to be exceptional tasting. Sometimes you just need to let the vegetable speak for itself.

Frencher and green beans

I love haricot vert but they are not always available at my local grocery store. Trader Joe’s has them but Trader Joe’s is a schlep across town. So if I get beans from my local supermarket that look like they’ll be tough and fibrous, I run them through my frencher. (I don’t know if frencher should be capitalized or not). The frencher splits them lengthwise in two or three pieces while simultaneously stripping off the “string” area of the string bean. The beans turn out tender, quick to cook and yummy. A frencher can be bought at any good kitchen supply store.