Can traditional green-bean casserole be supplanted as TG favorite? My "subcommittee" was open to sesame.

I was sure I was committing some sort of heresy. After all, doesn't everyone serve the traditional green-bean casserole (cream-of-mushroom soup, French-fried-onion topping, etc.) at Thanksgiving time? Would I dare deviate from the norm? Would a lightning bolt zap me in my kitchen?

Yet the cook who submitted Sesame Green Beans to the Family Circle magazine recipe collection vowed that her family members had been diehard green-bean haters before she tried Sesame Green Beans on them. Her blurb attached to the recipe indicated that her loved ones fairly beg for this vegetable now because of the new way of preparation. That moved Sesame Green Beans up to my must-try category. Traditional green-bean casserole got jettisoned for a new experiment (for now).

Unlike most recipes calling for fresh green beans, this one asked the cook to sauté the beans in olive oil rather than to steam or boil them. Garlic in the sauté process amped up the flavor. A brew of light soy sauce and water (sesame seeds added) tenderized the beans for about 10 minutes, with the skillet covered. Although the green of the beans darkened in the cooking process (one family member ultimately asked whether she was being served asparagus because of the darker color), it did nothing to detract from the end flavor result.

One night this week I tried Sesame Green Beans out on a "subcommittee" of the eventual end-recipients of Thanksgiving dinner. Would Thanksgiving magic be the same without my tried-and-true green-bean casserole?

All I know is that the bowl full of green beans disappeared quickly--not a single one remained for next day's leftovers!

Sesame Green Beans

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed

3 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and tilt pan to coat. Stir in garlic; cook 30 seconds. Add green beans and sauté, about 2 minutes. Pour in soy sauce along with 1/4 cup water. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Reduce heat to medium and cover pan. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, shaking pan occasionally. Uncover and stir beans to coat. Sprinkle a few more sesame seeds over the top. Serve warm. Makes 6 servings.

Fresh corn makes vegetable medley a scene-stealer for a summer potluck

Look out, summer potluck meals and family reunion food tables! A new blockbuster recipe I've just discovered is sure to start making the rounds.

If the health-appeal factor doesn't wow you, the sheer colorfulness of it will! This recipe would be a sure scene-stealer at any covered-dish occasion.

"Lemony Vegetable Medley" that I prepared last night with the first ears of corn from our very own garden (yes, it finally got as high as an elephant's eye!) is the most inventive and most flavorful dish I've tried in a long time--and that's saying a lot, since we've had some winners lately.

Hubby cast his oft-skeptical glance at the project when I asked him to get some radishes for me in the produce section of the grocery store. He couldn't imagine how sliced radishes would "go" with corn and steamed green beans in this marinated mixture.

He was the first to sing the praises of the dish, however, and wanted more and more. He said it was the most colorful salad he'd ever eaten and that it was like devouring health personified. Can't get better reviews than that!

The ingredient that "made" this medley, however, was the fresh garden corn. How eager we'd been to go out and raid our very own stalks.

The good news was that what we brought in was great and tasted terrific; the bad news was that we'll use it all up in just a couple of dishes. No voluminous corn harvest this year, I'm afraid.

Hubby is bemoaning the fact that he left much of the garden planting to the yard man. In retrospect we can see that our yard man planted things too close together and not as carefully as he should have. The corn, the tomatoes, and the peppers are all tightly bunched without a lot of growing room. (Gardening was not our yard guy's thing and was done in haste so he could quickly get back to mowing.) Hubby resolution: he'll do the planting himself next season and let the yard man stick with mowing. When you care a lot--and he cares bunches--garden-tending's just not something you leave to someone else. We live and learn.

However, we can be thankful for what corn we were able to bring in. And when we dined last night on "Lemony Vegetable Medley" (thanks, "Celebrating a Healthy Harvest" recipe booklet), we enjoyed it down to the very last kernel!

Lemony Vegetable Medley

2 cups corn (about 3 large ears), cooked

2 cups green beans, lightly steamed

1 cups radishes, thinly sliced

1 cup red bell pepper, sliced

Dressing:

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon mustard

2 tablespoons cooking oil

2 tablespoons chives, chopped

pepper to taste

Mix dressing and set aside. Combine vegetables in large bowl. Add dressing and refrigerate for 1 hour. Stir and serve.