RUMFORD — The Oxford County branch of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension along with River Valley Healthy Communities hosted an outdoor demonstration of how to steam green beans with a special dressing Tuesday evening.

Maine Harvest for Hunger coordinator Barbara Murphy said it was one of 12 cooking demonstrations to teach residents “how to be clever with their vegetables.”

“This is the first year we’re doing cooking demos like this,” Murphy said. “We’ve been handing out vegetables to residents for a while, but we realized that people were going home without any idea of how to cook them. These demos are a way of teaching people some new recipes.”

Murphy said nine women signed up for a 30-hour volunteer course to learn new recipes using vegetables. In exchange, the volunteers would lead cooking demonstrations to locals.

Bethel residents Deborah Richmond and Heidi Holt volunteered for Tuesday evening’s demo.

“They’re the food enthusiasts,” Murphy laughed. “They’re the friendly faces that we’re attaching to the project in Oxford County.”

Richmond and Holt showed 30 people how to steam green beans with a special dressing.

“What other ways do you guys make green beans?” Richmond asked.

“Steamed, with salt, pepper and butter” was one answer. “Green bean chowder,” another said.

One woman said she uses green beans in place of spaghetti, pouring sauce over them.

“It tastes delicious, and it helps out with my diabetes,” she said.

Murphy said there will be nine more demonstrations, including one on grilling and roasting vegetables.

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