Creamy Thyme Butter Beans

Simple and classic, these creamy thyme butter beans aka lima beans are a family favorite, the perfect side dish for any meal. And they are so easy! 

First of all, I need to clarify what I mean by butter beans. Many in the world would call these green delights lima beans. In the southern United States or at the very least in Louisiana where I was born and many my forebears before me, they are called butter beans. 

It wasn’t until I was a full grown up that I found out that more the mature white butter beans existed. I’ll eat those too, if well cooked and soft but for my money, the tender green beans are the best. The older white ones can be quite starchy and dry but cream helps so they can also work in this recipe.

This simple recipe was my mom’s favorite way to eat butter beans. She waxed lyrical about my grandmother’s light hand with this dish. A generous pour of rich cream, a sprinkling of thyme, often dried thyme because that’s what Mo had on hand. I like to use fresh thyme, which Mom also appreciated and I was happy to cook this for her, whenever she asked.

Creamy Thyme Butter Beans

If you can find shelled fresh beans, by all means, use them. I made these with frozen beans but I've also used canned ones before, drained and rinsed. When fresh purple hull or zipper cream peas are in season, I’ve made this with them as well. 

Ingredients

1 lb or 450g frozen butter/lima beans

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste as desired

2/3 cup or 156ml heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme 

Several generous grinds black pepper

Pinch cayenne

Optional for garnish: more thyme

Method

Thaw and rinse the beans with warm water. Discard any loose pods or discolored beans. 

Put the beans just covered with water with the salt in a small pot.

Bring the water to a boil then simmer the beans until tender. This could take just 10 minutes with very fresh young beans, a little longer with older ones. The instructions on my bag of frozen baby limas said to bring to a boil then simmer for 20-25 minutes! Only you can judge if they are tender enough for you. I will say, try to choose the biggest ones to test.  

When they are tender, taste a bean and see if it has absorbed enough salt to your liking. If not, add another teaspoon of salt to the water, let stand for 10 minutes, and then drain in a colander.

Return the warm beans to the pot, over a very low heat then add in the cream and stir to coat. 

Stir in the thyme. Gently heat the cream till warm through but be careful not to not let it boil. 

Add in a few generous grinds of black pepper and a pinch of cayenne. 

Serve warm, garnished with more thyme, if desired. 

Enjoy!

As I mentioned above, I grew up eating butter beans/lima beans and didn’t know they were almost universally reviled! Why do many people hate limas? Perhaps because they weren’t cooked well. Today my Sunday FunDay friends and I are trying to change that! We are celebrating Lima Bean Respect Day ahead of the official date on April 20th. All hail the might LIMA. 

Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Cam. Check out the links below. 

• Butter Beans Curry, Maharashtrian Sprouted Usal by Cook with Renu
• Creamy Thyme Butter Beans by Food Lust People Love
• Greek Yogurt Soup With Zucchini, Lima Beans & Red Lentils by Sneha's Recipe
• Ham & Baby Lima Bean Soup by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Pizza Beans by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Southern Style Green Lima Beans by Making Miracles
• Summer Squash Succotash by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Vaal Nu Shaak by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Why All the Hate? Recipes to Convert Lima Bean Despisers by Culinary Cam

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Savory Garlic Rice Noodles

Ever so slightly sweet and super flavorful, these savory garlic rice noodles are made with kway teow tossed in sauteed garlic and green onions with brown sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil. 

Kway teow (粿條) translates to "rice cake strips" which are used in many dishes from stir-fries to soups. They are easy to prepare because no cooking is necessary. Just soak them in boiling water until they soften, drain and rinse! 

In Southeast Asia char kway teow is a popular stir-fry dish made with those flat, wide rice noodles and a variety of vegetables with a mix of proteins, primarily chicken and seafood.  It’s one of our favorite things to eat and the dish our younger daughter usually orders when we go to the Malaysian restaurant we love in Houston. 

When our host for this week’s Sunday FunDay proposed Noodles as our theme for today, since March is National Noodle Month, I knew I wanted to use kway teow in a simple side dish that was quick to the table, with staple items I always have on hand. (It has been one of THOSE weeks, folks.) This one fits the bill nicely. 

Savory Garlic Rice Noodles

Check out the photo of the kway teow under the ingredients list so you can see how wide they are – about 1 cm wide or ½ an inch. I buy them in an Asian grocery store but I have seen them randomly in the international aisle of my regular supermarket. They are also available online. This recipe is adapted from one on Budget Bytes.

Ingredients

6 oz or 170g kway teow or flat, wide rice noodles

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 tablespoon reduced salt soy sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

4 cloves garlic

5-6 green onions

2 tablespoons butter

Optional for garnish: black or white sesame seeds or a combo!

Optional for serving: sliced fresh red chili peppers

Method

Soak the noodles in boiling water according to package instructions.

Drain well and rinse in a colander. Mine took about 10 minutes to get al dente but I’ve bought ones before that only took 6-8 minutes.

In a small bowl, stir the oyster sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil together until well combined and the sugar has dissolved.

Mince the garlic and slice the green onions, setting the green bits to one side. 

Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted and bubbly, add the garlic and the white part of the onions and sauté until for 2-3 minutes or until they are soft and fragrant.

Set aside some of the green bits for garnish and then add the rest into the pan and give the whole thing a stir. 

Turn the heat off under the pan. Add the kway teow and toss well to coat the noodles in the buttery onions and garlic. 

Add the oyster sauce mixture to the pan and toss again, once again, to coat. 

Turn the heat on again low and gently warm the noodles to serving. 

Garnish the noodles with the reserved sliced green onions and sesame seeds, if desired, then serve.

I also like to offer some sliced hot chili peppers alongside, for those who like things spicy!

Enjoy!

As I mentioned above, March is National Noodle Month and today we are sharing recipes to help you celebrate. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out the links below. 

• Brown Butter Sage Noodles from Our Good Life
• Garlic Lover's Pasta from A Messy Kitchen
• Kung Pao Noodles from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Manchow Soup from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Protein Packed Noodle Bowl from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Savory Garlic Rice Noodles from Food Lust People Love
• Sour Cream Noodles from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Stir Fry Noodles with Beef from Amy's Kitchen Adventures
• Vegan Thai Peanut Butter Noodles from Sneha's Recipe
  
  

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Celeriac Mash with Scallop Roe Butter

Celeriac Mash with Scallop Roe Butter is a delightfully fluffy side dish where nutty, celery-flavored celeriac combines beautifully with gorgeously buttery coral scallop roe.

It’s not a pretty vegetable – in fact, some would say it’s downright ugly - and perhaps that’s why celeriac is underrated. I like to use it in soups where it adds a delightfully subtle celery flavor and welcome creaminess, especially when pureed. 

But celeriac really shines when you mash it. It becomes fluffy and light, the perfect side dish to serve with any meal. 

As for the scallop roe, I know some people cook and eat them along with the scallops but I am not a fan of their texture. This recipe takes advantage of their wonderful flavor to "season" the celeriac and solves my texture issues.

Celeriac Mash with Scallop Roe Butter

If you can’t find celeriac where you live (looking at you, most US grocery stores!) you can certainly make this with your favorite potatoes. 

Ingredients

About 1 dozen scallop roe (1 3/4 oz or 50g)

1 3/4 oz or 50g butter, divided

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 celeriac - about 1.1 lb or 500g, before peeling

Fine sea salt

Ground white pepper

Optional for garnish: parsley. 

Method

Clean the scallop roe and cut off any dark or unsavory looking bits. I use only the coral-colored bits. 

Pan-fry the roe in a little of the butter for 2-3 minutes, stirring and flipping them as you cook.

Remove from the heat and transfer to a small bowl to cool, along with any butter in the pan. Use a silicone or rubber spatula and don't leave anything behind!

Add the lemon juice and cool water to a suitable sized pot in which to boil the celeriac. Use a sharp knife to cut the peel off of the celeriac and cut it into chunks. 

Add them to the lemon water as you cut them to stop them turning brown. 

When all of the celeriac is cut, drain the lemon water and refill the pot with fresh water to cover. Add 1 teaspoon fine sea salt. 

Bring to the boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes or until a knife easily slices through the chunks.

While the celeriac cooks, add the rest of the butter to a small food processor along with the cooled roe. 

Process until smooth. Set aside.

Drain the water and return the celeriac to the pan and mash until smooth. 

Add in the scallop roe butter and stir well to combine. 

Season to taste with fine sea salt and white pepper.

 Garnish in a serving bowl with a little parsley, if desired. 

I served this with seared scallops and a small tomato and onion salad. 

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 18th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter R. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the R recipes below:

• Food Lust People Love: Celeriac Mash with Scallop Roe Butter 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Homemade Roasted Tomato Sauce - Keto 
• A Messy Kitchen: Self-Saucing Rhubarb Pudding Cake 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Caprese Ricotta Toast 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Rosemary Roasted Red Potatoes 
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Rosolli, Finnish Salad 
• Blogghetti: Shrimp Fried Rice 
• Magical Ingredients: Ricotta Red Pepper Dip 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Rustic Rye Sourdough Loaf 
• Palatable Pastime: Red Hot Pepper Vinegar 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Cinnamon Raisin Vanilla Zucchini Bread Muffins

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken 

N. Nocciolata Swirl Meringues 

O. Jersey Octopus Ceviche 

P. Easy Pastina Soup 

Q. Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad 

R. Celeriac Mash with Scallop Roe Butter – this post! 

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Marmite Butter Mashed Potatoes

These Marmite Butter Mashed Potatoes are a delightful savory dream on a spoon, made with yeast extract, butter, cream and milk. They are the perfect accompaniment to grilled steak or roast chicken. 

Marmite is admittedly a very divisive ingredient. It’s super salty and many people find its yeasty flavor too strong for their tastebuds. I like to think that maybe the naysayers just haven’t tried it spread very, very thinly on well-buttered toast. That was the gateway for me. The Marmite merges with the butter in a lovely way and each bite is a savory treat.

Over the years, I have increased the thickness with which I spread Marmite on toast and I’ve added it into many dishes to increase the umami factor. It is excellent in Bolognese sauce, for instance, or simply stirred through hot buttered pasta. It’s been one of my husband’s favorite things since childhood and I am grateful to him for introducing me to it.

Marmite Butter Mashed Potatoes

Marmite is a yeast extract, manufactured in the United Kingdom. It comes in a glass jar and is very thick and very dark. Some US supermarkets carry it in the international aisle but it can also be purchased online. 

Ingredients

For the Marmite butter: 

3 1/2 oz or 100g unsalted butter, softened

2 teaspoons Marmite 

Pinch flakey sea salt

For the mashed potatoes:

1 lb 5 oz or 600g potatoes

3 teaspoons fine sea salt

1/4 cup or 60ml milk

1/4 cup or 60ml whipping cream

Method

Mash the butter with the Marmite until completely combined. 

Add in the pinch of flakey sea salt and mix again to combine.

Wrap the Marmite butter up in a roll in a piece of cling film. Chill until needed. 

Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks. 

Add the chunks immediately to a pot full of cold water so they don’t brown as you get the rest peeled and cut. 

Rinse the potatoes in fresh cold water and fill the pot again so that the potatoes are covered and stir in the salt. 

Bring the water to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook for 10-12 mins until cooked through. Drain the potatoes in a colander.

Tip the milk and cream into the pan and heat them until they are warm. 

Add the potatoes back to the pot and mash with a potato masher.

Then mash in half the Marmite butter.

Stir well until the Marmite butter is thoroughly mixed in.

Serve the mashed potatoes with the remaining Marmite butter on the side, in case anyone would like to add a little more.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and since it’s Father’s Day in many countries around the world, today we are sharing recipes for Dad’s Favorites. Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Cam. Check out the link list below. 

• Fried Perch by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Marmite Butter Mashed Potatoes by Food Lust People Love
• Milk Chocolate Mug Cake - Microwave by Sneha's Recipe
• Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Roasted Yukon Gold Potato Wedges by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Somehow We Have Landed on Korean for Fathers' Day: Bo Ssäm Recreated by Culinary Cam

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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