Most of the year a market near my studio quietly vends the most succulent green beans. I take three lbs. home, spread them out in a large baking pan and mix them with olive oil, 5 knife-flattened toes of garlic, 10 sprigs of fresh thyme, and ground pepper. I put them in a 500 degree oven and let them sizzle, moving them about a few times with tongs, until they are wilted and beginning to brown. I remove the pan and let them cool in it. In a large bowl I mix the zest and juice of a large lemon with ½ tin of anchovies, chopped. I toss the cool beans, garlic and thyme in this liquor, and taste for salt. Usually doesn’t need any.
The painter Carl Plansky makes artisan oil paints under the sign, “Williamsburg” (www.oilpaint.com). I have used them for years, phasing out all the other brands I fostered since my baby painting days. One of his colors, green gold, is also succulent, beautifully pigmented and ecstatically transparent. A glaze of it will summon a warm, yellowy light – the same yellowy light that I can taste in the green beans.