Runner Bean Salad

The best runner beans I know come from the village of Artas, south of Bethlehem. For many years, from May to September, Umm Hilmi used to knock on our door at six in the morning, bringing with her enough fasoulia for my mother to blanch and freeze until the next batch. The same haggling over the price was repeated every year, with Umm Hilmi slightly raising her price in anticipation of this ritual until, now aware of her tactics, my mother resolved to strik