Summer Veggie Medley

To the right is my "before" photo. My boyfriend's grandparents gave me, I kid you not, like 5 lbs. of green beans and probably about 10 lbs. of baby red potatoes. I also got three yellow onions, a cabbage, a jar of tomatoes, and some pickled beets.

(I've never ate beets before, like alone pickled, so I have no idea what I'm in for here. He says he wants to be here when I try them so he can see my reaction...).

Anyway. What am I supposed to do with all this produce? I knew I wanted to eat the green beans and potatoes together, but that was about it. After snapping all the beans and scrubbing all the potatoes, I looked into my big pot and I realized it need MORE. So in went some carrots, celery, herbs, and garlic. At first I was a little nervous (what the heck does celery seed taste like?), but after about 15 minutes I could start to smell it cook and I knew I had done right. I let it all simmer in a closed pot with the goal in mind of having slightly boiled, slightly steamed veggies and not soup. It worked! Better yet, it was really freaking good. I had like, two bowls of it. This was the first time I had had potatoes from someone's backyard and there is DEFINITELY a taste difference. They were so fresh and awesome. They were my favorite part. The green beans were good too. I simmered them long enough so that they didn't taste so "green". I love vegetables, but sometimes I feel like I'm just munching on a plant (which I am...). Wait. Where am I going with this...?

Anyway, you can adjust this so that your green beans aren't cooked so long, but I prefer them this way. Also, I used water to cook them in, but feel free to use vegetable broth. I thought I had some in the pantry, but I was clean out.

Summer Veggie Medly:
1 1/2 lbs. green beans, snapped, snapped into thirds, washed (this amount is an estimate)
1 lb. baby red potatoes, scrubbed, a strip of peel removed, halved (amount is an estimate)
1 yellow onion, chopped
A handful of baby carrots, sliced, about 3/4 c.
Celery heart, chopped, plus leaves (I used the white center of the celery and saved the stalks for peanut butter, lol), about 3/4 c.
2 Tb. Earth Balance or oil, your choice
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. marjoram
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. celery seed
Pepper to taste
Water or vegetable broth, about 3 cups

1. In a large Dutch oven, toss together all the ingredients. You only want about 1/2 inch of water or broth in the pot, the goal is to not make soup (unless you want soup, and if you do this is a good base).
2. Cover and simmer over medium about 45 minutes or until the potatoes are done.
3. Enjoy!

Talk about a super easy recipe! And in case you were curious, I also have an "after" photo:

Pictured: Tasty goodness.