For the Guys: Ham and Green Beans

About author / Christine Gable

Culinary enthusiast; kids cuisine and slow cooking; magazine recipe developer; professional writer. Her simple recipes are great for family dinners.

There’s nothing better than a man who knows his way around the kitchen. Oh yes, there are tons of reasons to sing the praises of a man who knows how to plug-in more than power tools. Sure, his first choices in food might not be mine—but when I can rely on him to make a piping hot meal that the kids will like, what’s not to like about that?

Just the other week I found him hunkered over a grocery store flyer—and lo and behold, he was making plans to swing by the grocery store and buy some bargain-basement-priced roast tenderloins on sale. Later he told me that even the checkout clerk had commented, “You must be a meat-lover, eh?”

Affirmative.

It’s a very satisfying sound to hear someone else puttering around in the kitchen. Especially for a working woman. For even when that working woman is a food writer and recipe developer, there are only so many hours that find her in the actual trenches either chopping, sautéing, or baking. There are plenty more (sometimes too many!) hours typing, editing, proofreading and inputting data, measurements, quantities, ingredients …

And then inevitably it’s dinnertime again. Too soon.

The last couple weekends have been a real treat for me—especially since hubby has been taking more of an interest in cooking. He’s been stocking up on roasts (he’s been on a pork roast run) and the winter cold has found him indoors experimenting with long-slow simmered dishes. In other words: he’s been staying busy with the crockpot. And that’s a winning combo for the kids and me since we not only get to smell the mouth-watering aroma of dinner-yet-to-come but also get to dig into these new dinner creations.

Is it wintertime? Is it a new hobby? I’m not asking, just enjoying!

While cooking itself does relax me and it tends to have a centering effect on me, it can still feel like work sometimes (but that’s par for the course as a recipe developer, eh?). So whenever I get the chance to take a break and still smell that good ol' home cookin’, it’s a win-win.

So how in the world does a meat lover and a mostly-vegetarian find common ground (and peace)?

No special formula. Mostly just by living that mantra “live and let live” with a healthy dose of understanding (and sometimes deep breathing). We’ve given up trying to twist each other’s arm—and we’ve given in to appreciating the best we each have to offer. He can hunt down a mean meat deal (yay, grocery budget!), and me, I can figure out something to make with just about anything that’s thrown my way. And that can be mighty handy when there’s meat-lovin’ men and vegetarian gals living under the same roof.

I hope you’ll enjoy this meat-based recipe—the next several weeks will be dedicated to vegetarian specialties in the slow cooker, thanks a fabulous book I just discovered: Robin Robertson’s Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker (200 Recipes for Healthy and Hearty One-Pot Meals That are Ready When You Are) by the Harvard Common Press, 2004. Stay tuned!

Serves/Makes: 8

• 2 (1 lb. size) ham hocks
• 2 cups water
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes (or to taste)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 8 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
• 3 cans (15 ounce size) green beans
• 2 pounds smoked ham, cut into chunks (cooked)