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green beans with almonds
1½ lbs. green beans
4 fat cloves garlic
½ red bell pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup sliced almonds

serves 6
time 15 minutes

1 Put a pot of water on and bring to a boil. Toss in the green beans and cook for about 5-7 minutes, depending upon how crisp you like them. Drain and rinse in cold water to stop cooking.
2 Meanwhile, in a dry skillet, toss the almonds and cook on medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the nuts are just starting to brown. Be vigilant - nuts burn easily. Transfer toasted almonds to a bowl.
3 Mince up the garlic and cut the bell pepper into very thin, 1.5"-2" long julienne strips. Heat up 2 Tbsp. of olive oil in the pan. Sauté the garlic and bell pepper for about 5 minutes, until the pepper is cooked-through.
4 Toss the cooked green beans with the garlic and pepper mixture as well as most of the toasted almonds (reserve a Tbsp. or so to sprinkle on top). Add salt to taste. Garnish with remaining almonds. Serve warm or at room temperature.

garlicky potato salad
Garlic adds a little extra zip to this simple red potato salad.

2 lbs. red potatoes
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp. salt
2-4 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
3-4 Tbsp. light sour cream or yogurt
¼ cup chopped scallions or chives

serves 6
time 40 minutes

1 Put a pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil. While you're waiting, scrub the potatoes until they're really clean (a vegetable scrub brush works well if you have one) - nobody likes a gritty texture in their potato salad. Dice up the potatoes into ¾"-or-so sized cubes. When the water's boiling, dump in the potato cubes and cook for 20-25 minutes or so, until cooked through and tender. If you're testing with a fork, try not to test the potatoes too frequently - the more holes you poke in them the more waterlogged they'll get. Drain, rinse in cold water, and let cool.
2 Cut off the root ends of the cloves, then smash them with a side of a knife to remove the peel. Use a mortar and pestle to mash the garlic and salt to a paste. Combine the garlic paste, 2 Tbsp. of lemon juice, mayo, sour cream and chopped herbs. Taste and add more lemon juice if it needs more tang.
3 Combine the dressing and the cooked potatoes, adding pepper and more salt if necessary. Store in fridge if you're not eating right away; let it come to room temperature before serving.

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