The science and math party is on Monday, and I had to figure out what to bring. I don’t want to be the lazy drone who brings a six-pack or beer or some cookies from the store (there’s nothing wrong with my peers who do that, I’m aiming for just one step higher), but I also don’t want to spend a lot of time on something more challenging, so I googled for a traditional, simple, healthy, vegetarian food associated with the holidays. My search returned something called a green bean casserole — it’s common enough that I’ve heard of that as a typical midwestern food, and it really is pretty basic.
One catch: although it’s supposedly traditional, I’ve never had it, let alone made it. I’m a bit like an alien trying to fit in, but I decided to try it out. It’s just green beans in a matrix of canned mushroom soup, with a few little extras. So I whipped up a concoction from a recipe this afternoon to see if I could produce something edible…a test run. Then I put it before my guinea pig test animal wife to see if it was OK.
This is the end result.
She’s never had it before either, but she and I managed to consume it. I have no idea if it tastes like an authentic green bean casserole, but I guess I’ll try it on Monday. Maybe all the native born midwesterners will recoil in horror, but my midwestern ancestors didn’t rise from the graveyard to curse me. Yet.
Green beans, French’s onions, and cream of mushroom soup? That’s certainly how I was taught to make it growing up in Iowa.
I like it, but can’t get my kids (who weren’t born in the Midwest) to eat it.
Cream of Mushrooom soup has cow juice in it, if that matters to you.
I made it with mushrooms, almond milk, and a little flour, so I don’t know how the cow crept into it.
I am one of those people who gets severe diarrhea from almond milk. So just no. In the past i have brought boiled shrimp to these sort of pot luck things. Always seemed to be appreciated.
Canned mushroom soup: https://www.campbells.com/products/condensed/cream-of-mushroom-soup/
“Customize and create with this Cream of Mushroom Soup, which starts with mushrooms, garlic, and farm fresh cream for a smooth flavor.”
Fun fact: My sister in law calls this casserole “Lutheran Ladies” because the only time she ever saw it was at church pot lucks.
Other standards were tuna and macaroni casserole with cheddar cheese sauce and crumbled potato chips on top, ambrosia salad and cherry Jello mold with dark red cherries and walnuts.
It wasn’t horrible but I’ve always thought of it as Terre Haut Cuisine.
I’ve had green bean casserole multiple times. I love the stuff, but not sure how healthy in the traditional style fat content or sodium, the two things making it a comfort food. I think I ate it at church pot lucks before youth group. Green bean casserole has been quite common in my life. Weird that others never had it before.
John Morales @5: The farm fresh cream kinda makes it not vegetarian any more. PZ went with almond milk. I’d be curious how it tastes.
Hemidactylus, ahem: “It’s just green beans in a matrix of canned mushroom soup, with a few little extras.”
(Canned mushroom soup, not canned mushrooms)
John Morales @8
In my exegesis of PZ’s written word he said he used almond milk, which implies a substitution to get away from cow cream.
Are we now going to do an ontology of cream of mushroom soup? IMO it could still be cream of mushroom soup with almond creaminess instead. YMMV.
Sorry I meant ontology of green bean casserole in my @9.
Actually I’m fine with an ontology of cream of mushroom soup upon further reflection:
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/dairy-free-cream-of-mushroom-soup/
Or:
https://thekitchengirl.com/i-cant-believe-its-vegan-cream-of-mushroom-soup/
“Unsweetened Plant-Based Milk: Any non-dairy milk, such as coconut, oat, or soy milk, will work. However, I prefer to use almond milk for the flavor.”
Which is a base for:
https://thekitchengirl.com/cant-believe-its-vegan-green-bean-casserole/
Now I’m hungry.
As well as, not instead. There is no dichotomy.
—
FWIW, I kinda do similar, myself. For a side, though, not as a main.
Heat oil in skillet, soften the (very thin) garlic, add in canned tomatoes, reduce to paste.
Salt, pepper, maybe paprika.
Meantime, trim and parboil ye stringbeans, and when the paste is almost done chuck them in and finish.
Has to end up beans sitting in tomato sauce, not tomato paste with beans in it. Ratio matters.
Simple, and properly vegetarian. Tasty, too.
John Morales @12
Hmmm…tomatoes are an interesting twist on green bean casserole. Looking it up online it is a variation to use tomatoes. Some suggest chili peppers. Might violate expectations at an office party.
With tomatoes I am reminded of the New England vs Manhattan clam chowder variants. I guess clam chowder is what one prefers it to be.
When I heard the name green bean casserole I was surprised to hear that mushroom soup was involved.
I bought a tin of green beans earlier this week (I would have gone for fresh pods but there weren’t any in the shop). I plan to heat them up with a chopped tomato, drain them, and then add them to a bowl of cous-cous, fried onions (pre-packaged — I’m sometimes lazy) and sliced radishes, with a crushed garlic clove, some chopped parsley and a drizzle of olive oil whisked with cracked black pepper and lemon juice.
Not exactly a casserole, I suppose, but also not something which has to be eaten hot and therefore I can spread it over lunch and supper and maybe also treat myself to a sausage roll early in the evening.