Perhaps that’s why the “joke” fell flat.
Now that you mention… it doesn’t. What was i thinking ?
Here is a picture of a 12" ruler instead.
Well, I was laughing out loud.
I laughed, too.
So, I asked my gf where the green bean recipe from Don Deluise would be. The two of us are terrible when it comes to writing down recipes.
She says the recipe was actually from Don’s sister Anne. It was just green beans lightly steamed, then tossed with olive oil, basil, and oregano, etc.
At some point I jazzed them up by sautéing tomatoes, adding tomato paste, and mixing in the green beans.
More on banana for scale meme:
Origin
On March 30th, 2005, a photo of a banana placed against a TV set was posted on the blog Rockdogdesigns[ (Banana For Scale | Know Your Meme) with a description explaining the TV was for sale:
"I don’t know how big the screen is, we’re moving and I can’t find the tape measurer. But I do have a banana. For scale. Oh wait, my husband says it’s 19inches. Oh well, I’ll leave the banana for interest. Please be interested.
The beans in the OP probably aren’t runner beans, though it’s hard to be sure just from a picture. They’re probably either bush or pole Italian beans, and probably of a variety which doesn’t need to be strung.
ETA: It’s called stringing them (removing those stringy bits from pea or bean varieties which do need this done); though it occurs to me that logically it should be called de-stringing them.
Correct, no strings attached! Had some raw for lunch today.
I’ve seen a chest of drawers (‘Chester Draws’) for sale with someone holding an irate stretched out cat under the arms in front of it, for scale. 
.
I pickled some of the beans (I pickle lots of things) and after two days they’re pretty good (strange breakfast food, though)
Not if you use them to garnish a Bloody Mary!
Heh, in NOLA I always get my Bloodies at the Erin Rose with a dillybean and a little potato.
Cats aren’t really very good for that purpose as, in addition to the variations of size within the species, any individual cat is capable of changing size drastically in any given dimension.
Also, of course, because of what may happen to the arms (and other portions of the anatomy) of the person insisting on doing this if the cat is irate.
A friend of mine had a huge cat tree in his home. His cats loved it. When he was moving, he decided to get a new huge cat tree at his new house and asked if I knew anyone who would want his old one.
He sent me pictures of the cat tree, all without cats on it. They spent much of their day lounging on it, but as soon as he decided to get pictures, they’d run because they’re assholes.
I loaded it onto my trailer and delivered it to a friend who has cats.
Late to this thread - sorry.
Yes, another UK Doper who would ID them as runner beans - I grow them every year. They look to me as if they have been left on the vine a little too long, so they might be stringy. However:
- This sounds a lot like Taze Fasulye, a Turkish disk I make often - it’s a great way of using beans which have been left on the vine too long, because the beans are simmered for 45 - 60 mins, which softens them up nicely. There are a million recipes online - I bastardized this version. It’s in Turkish, but it’s pretty easy to figure out what’s going on. I throw in some pul biber/aleppo pepper for some additional flavor.
Link won’t embed, dammit: https://youtu.be/cVFRxMLTEE8?feature=shared
j
The OP’s beans resemble Romano-style pole beans, picked at a tender stage before the pods have filled out.
Yes, as I said earlier; except that, as I also said earlier, beans of that appearance may be Romano or some other variety of the same type, and/or may be either pole beans or bush beans.
I’m growing three varieties of bush Italian beans this year for market: Jumbo, Dulcima, and Forrester (the last two as trials, as Jumbo seed has become impossible to get, and as bush Romanos – I’ve tried several versions – grown here don’t have Jumbo’s flavor. The pole Romanos might, but I don’t want to build the trellis.) They all look like that, except that shape of Jumbo is more erratic. There are also multiple varieties of pole beans that look like that, and that also are often grown for use as snap beans – still tender enough to snap, and not significantly filled out yet. Some can also be used as shelly and/or dry beans, in different stages of maturity.
TL, DR: “Romano” is the name of several specific variety/cultivars. “Pole” is the name of a growth habit. “Italian snap beans”, in the USA at least, is a term covering Romano and a number of additional variety/cultivars, and includes both pole and bush beans. Runner beans are yet another type of bean, some of which look rather like Italian snap beans.
I do this for a living, folks.
@Treppenwitz – I think it’s been pretty well established in this thread that no, the beans in the OP are probably not runner beans, and certainly not overgrown runner beans. Some runner beans do look somewhat like that, but the OP said that they don’t need stringing.
Runner beans are Phaseolus coccineus. Italian beans, yellow wax beans, the purple and purple-splashed beans I grow, and regular green beans are all Phaseolus vulgaris.
OK, TIL. Looks like they are more commonly called Helda in the UK. I might have a go with them next year - I see a few seed suppliers.
j
Helda’s another specific variety. In the link below Johnny’s Seeds is comparing the variety Helda to the variety Northeaster.
Helda might be a common variety in the UK; that I don’t know. Certainly looks worth trying, if you want to grow a pole bean.
The Italian romano beans under discussion are almost my favorite vegetable. They look like they’d be tough or woody, but they’re deliciously tender. And they taste even better than even the best string beans.
Every summer I buy them weekly. My favorite recipe is to steam them and then sauce them with a little fresh tomato sauce and add a little sliced white onion. This dish goes especially well with some good lamb chops.