Welcome to DavazNet

Carl Davaz

Eating in should be at least as good as eating out, and maybe even better. There can be pleasure in the choosing and preparation of ingredients in order to end up with something you’ll proudly share.

That’s the premise behind Eating In, our new Oregon Life column. In this column, we’ll explore how to get the best food on the table without unreasonable effort. This isn’t the place to learn how to bone a turkey or make tofu. While from-scrach is a good ideal, there are quite good prepared foods that deserve notice. And we’ll notice them.

We’ll talk about techniques and ingredients that can be used for more than one recipe and give you ideas for what to serve with the dish.

And since we’re all trying to eat healthier, we’ll focus on vegetables and fruits, explore whole grains and make the occasional foray into main-dish proteins and desserts.

We’ll talk about what to keep on the shelf, refrigerator and freezer so you’ll always have the makings for a meal. We’ll try to keep the dishes made with seasonal ingredients, preferably locally produced and organic, if you can manage it. As far as local goes, some things just aren’t possible (olive oil comes to mind), but we’ll do our best.

Spicy Green Beans is adapted from “The Cooks’ Bible” by Christopher Kimball, who calls them Green Beans with Ginger and Toasted Sesame Oil. This is a delicious, easy-to-make-ahead side dish that is great hot, warm or cold, making it an ideal contribution to a picnic or potluck. (It has become an annual event at a neighborhood Fourth of July potluck. Their absence was duly noted one summer and won’t happen again.)

The same recipe can be used with broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, pea pods, sauteed chunks of summer squash or eggplant. It’s hard to think of a vegetable that wouldn’t work here.

Because of the assertive flavors, serve the beans with rice and a plainer main dish, perhaps fish, chicken or beef simply seasoned with some garlic, salt and pepper. You don’t want battling spices.

From the shelf: Oil, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, soy sauce.

From the refrigerator: Sesame oil.

To buy: Green beans.

Spicy Green Beans

• 1 pound green beans (about 4 cups), ends trimmed
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons water

Steam beans until barely cooked, approximately 3 minutes. Beans should still be crunchy. Drain beans and reserve.

Add the oils, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes to a saute pan on medium-high heat. When sizzling, reduce the heat to medium-low and saute until garlic starts to turn golden. Do not overcook. Add the green beans, soy sauce and water. Cook over medium-high heat for 3 minutes, tossing beans with tongs, until the water evaporates and leaves a thickened fragrant sauce clinging to the beans.

Serves 4.

Kim Davaz of Eugene writes the biweekly Eating In column.