HG has never liked string beans, haricots vert or whatever you choose to call them. When cooked briefly, HG finds them stringy. When overcooked, they are oblongs of mush. Yellow beans. That’s a whole other story. Don’t see much of them in the United States but here on Prince Edward Island they are a summer staple. Cheap and abundant, they are featured at every roadside stand from June to September. A delicious vegetable with a rich (almost buttery) taste. Here’s how BSK prepares them. Boils them and then douses them with cold water when they reach an al dente stage. They get a shower of olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, smoked pepper, chopped scallions and an abundance of fresh cut herbs. HG/BSK dined on them last night accompanied by sautéed sea scallops (from the nearby PEI town of Souris), crisp fried PEI potatoes, butter lettuce from a local farm. Dessert: A pecan studded butter tart. O, Canada!!
BSK looks good. HG has been observing the woman for 48 years and she still has the body of a much, much younger woman. Her energy level is extraordinary. BSK can push, pull, lift, swim, kayak, etc., etc. at a high level. She is flexible and supple.
What are the secrets? First of all, be lucky in your choice of gene pools. BSK is the daughter of athletes. Then, there’s movement. BSK is rarely still for long. Stretching, walking, and various Yoga poses are part of her daily routine.
Food? BSK loves food and wine. But, unlike HG, BSK is rarely immoderate. BSK adores fruit and vegetables. BSK’s most frequent lunch is carrots, radish, celery, turnips, raw broccoli dipped into hummus. BSK is devoted to salads. Green salads. Radish and celeriac. Raw, sliced turnip. BSK grills chicken and flank steak. Serves it over mounds of greens in a mustardy vinaigrette. Fish and chicken are staples. Lots of chicken salad for lunch and often dinners of Spatchcocked roast chicken (dusted with Goya Adobo). Unlike naughty HG, BSK does not eat the lush, crisp, flavorful chicken skin. When in a hurry, BSK lunches on Greek yogurt and blueberries. Winter breakfast is blueberries and oatmeal. When corn is in season, BSK is voracious. But, she uses little or no butter. Just some coarse sea salt. Since yellow beans are now in season on Prince Edward Island, BSK prepares them in abundance. Steams them until tender. Stops the cooking with splashes of cold waters. Dresses the beans in (once more) the special mustardy vinaigrette. Showers the salad with an abundance of herbs.
BSK weaknesses: Ice cream, of course, and an old fashioned English perversion — a sickening licorice variety pack known as Licorice All Sorts.
