Scarlet Runner Beans

This week, some of you are receiving scarlet runner beans in your produce shares, and you may be wondering what exactly they are. The beans are from the vining plants pictured here, with the pretty red blossoms that they get their name from. The scarlet runner bean is an incredible plant because it serves as a gorgeous decoration, and the beans can be eaten when they are young in the pod or as fully mature beans out of the pod. Our runner beans are still to be eaten whole, in the pod, and we have a few weeks before we will have beans that are mature enough to shell. If you've never seen a scarlet runner bean before and are wondering how to prepare them, we recommend cooking them as you would a green bean. They are best either steamed or cooked in the oven, where they can be cut up and put in an oven roast or be included in a casserole. If you missed the runner beans this week, don't worry, you will certainly have a chance to try them, in one form or another.