Summer Produce-palooza: Sesame Green Beans

Here I am five days into the promised post-a-day-for-a-week and what did I do yesterday?

I FORGOT to post!
No, I wasn't too busy. Just working at the book store where there was definitely some down time.
I used it to check Facebook. And read other blogs. You'd think that would remind me to write my own.
Nor did I run out of ideas. Got plenty of those.

I just forgot.
Whoops. I guess it's to be expected now that I'm 50.

Now that the mea culpa is out of the way, let's get to the produce...

This is a dish I've been making for a very long time. So long in fact, that I have it on a handwritten recipe card. It was given to me by a distant cousin, possibly even made for my baby shower. That was 19 years ago.
It's still a keeper.


Sesame Green Beans


3 lbs. green beans, trimmed

2 Tbsps. sesame seeds, toasted

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/3 cup sesame oil

1/3 cup soy sauce

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 tsps. sugar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup scallions, chopped

1/4 cup red bell pepper, finely diced

1/4 cup yellow bell pepper, finely diced

Blanch the green beans in boiling water until they turn bright green, about 4 minutes. Drain and place in an ice water bath to stop the cooking and retain the bright color.

Whisk together vinegar, soy sauce, mustard, sugar and sesame oil. Add garlic and scallions.

Remove green beans from ice water and pat dry. Arrange on a deep platter - it looks really nice if they're all going the same way. Pour dressing over them, then the red and yellow peppers. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.