A day on Yia Yia's farm/ Fasolakia Recipe

scroll to the bottom of this post for the recipe
We spent most of the day with Yia Yia on her farm. Steven LOVES being out there, and had lots of fun with the baby goats. He named them "Hip Hop" and "Slick". Hip Hop is full of personality. He is the smallest, but not afraid to walk right up to you. His name comes from the fact that he hops sideways when he runs. Funny.
Steven named the other one Slick, because he is very crafty in getting away.

We had Fasolakia for lunch, that we made from produce we picked out of Yia Yia's garden. Something about that speaks to me, and somehow makes the food taste even better. I'm including my recipe for Fasolakia in this post. This recipe is actually George's Yia Yia's recipe. On one of our trips to Greece, I watched her make it and wrote down everything she put in the pot. I remember it being interesting because she spoke not a word of English, and my Greek was not the best ever. I payed close attention to everything she put into that pot! The recipe is dated 7/2/2000. I'm so happy that I spent that time in the kitchen with her.

Yia Yia Mana's Fasolakia
3 tbs olive oil
1/2 of medium yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/4 lb fresh green beans, washed and stems removed
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
4 yellow squash, chopped
2 zucchini squash, chopped
3 beefsteak tomatoes
1 tsp Oregano
4 Fresh Mint Leaves
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cover bottom of heavy bottom pot with olive oil. Warm on medium-low heat. Add garlic and onions, and saute until translucent, maybe 3 mins. Add pinch of sea salt. Add green beans and chopped potatoes. Stir to coat vegetables in oil/onion/garlic mix. Cut tomatoes in half and grate. Add grated tomatoes and skins to pot. (if you want to take a short cut here, just add a small can of tomato sauce, and omit the tomatoes from the recipe) Sprinkle in oregano and mint leaves. Add enough water to cover vegetables, cover pot, and simmer fro 20 mins. Add zucchini and yellow squash. Cover and cook another 10 mins, stirring occasionally.
Serve with feta cheese, and french bread to dip into the savory juice.