The ample rainfall this summer has been kind to area gardens, but no crop has benefited quite like green beans. Well-watered bean plants quickly produce the long, uniformly slender pods pictured in seed catalogs and on the front of seed packets. At my house, we call these 6-inch pods movie star beans.

In dry seasons, such as the one we had last year, beans are slower to set pods and the pods grow more slowly. The result is shorter pods, with many of them taking on a lumpy appearance because the seeds inside grow out of proportion with the pod. Keeping beans sufficiently watered in a rainless summer takes an awful lot of water.

In most years, however, the combination of moderate rain and a little supplemental watering lets us pick 3- to 4-inch beans every day. So when I get a good crop of the longer pods, the temptation is to show them off rather than break them into pieces. Snapping them up into mini-beans seems almost sacrilegious.

The easiest way to cook long beans whole is to steam them, just as you would asparagus. If you prefer your beans al dente, you can easily control the cooking time in a steamer.

Remember when cooking fresh green beans that they take a lot longer to cook than the beans you spill out of a can. Even for crisper beans, you’ll probably need to steam them at least 20 minutes before you have adequate flavor.

The other thing to remember when cooking fresh beans is that they probably will require more salt than you ordinarily add to your food.

I’ve also cooked long green beans in a skillet. I have a deep, nonstick skillet with a lid that I love for such purposes. It’s also possible to produce al dente beans from a skillet, and you have the added benefit of being able to infuse the beans with flavor while they cook. With steamed beans, any added flavor comes after the cooking stops.

The beans described below can be laid out in a serving dish to make an attractive presentation on the table. The red pepper adds enough color to make the dish interesting.

Pencil Beans With Red Pepper

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6 dozen green beans, 5 to 6 inches long

3 tablespoons cooking oil

1 medium onion, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

1 lime, cut in half

salt and pepper to taste

Remove stems and wash green beans. Drain and set aside.

In a large deep skillet, over low heat, saute onion and garlic in heated cooking oil until the onion is just transparent. Add red pepper, and mix with the onion using a spatula. Add beans, laying them all in one direction in the skillet. Roll them over with a spatula to incorporate them with the onion and pepper. Squeeze the juice from each half of the lime over the beans and leave the rinds in the skillet. Salt, pepper and cover the beans. Let cook from 20 to 30 minutes, turning the beans occasionally. Remove the lime rinds, and salt and pepper to taste before serving. Makes 6 to 8 servings.