Meanwhile, back in the garden, I had a big harvest after two weeks of not being able to get to it.  I had lots of enthusiastic help from a fourth-grader!  I didn’t need bribes…digging up potatoes is just plain awesome fun.  The burgundy beans (the purple ones) are terrific, as are the young green beans.  No strings.  They’re great just quickly simmered, tossed with sautéed shallot, lemon, olive oil and salt.  Some of the Oregon blue lake beans got too big and tough, so I stringed them and put them in a pot with cut up tasso, a little beer, and some of the slow-roasted tomatoes in olive oil, and let them simmer.  I made that one up, but they taste great and the pot liquor is fabulous.  I made another batch of pesto, but this time I consulted Cook’s Illustrated and their recipe intro said something about how the flavor of pesto never lives up to the promising fragrance.  Funny…I agree!  So they have you bruise the basil and blanch the garlic, and also use less olive oil.