Sea Beans

I'm wandering through the produce section of Whole Foods the other day and out of the corner of my eye I see a basket of these odd looking things just sitting there. Bright green and looking like some kind of cross between a cactus and a piece of seaweed. There it was, right between the ginger root and rosemary skewers, looking so out of place. There wasn't even a tag or description associated with the contents of the basket. I had no idea what they were but I knew I wanted them. I had to hunt down a employee of the produce department just to tell me what the unusual looking item was. When asked, he looked as confused as I was but then proceeded to tell me that they are really good sauteed with some butter. "But what are they?" I continued to ask him. He finally fessed up and told me that he had no clue! Figuring someone in this store had to know what they were, he set out to get the answer. He was back 10 minutes later with a print out on a receipt indicating that they were, Sea Beans. "What the hell are these things" I thought to myself as I scooped up a handful and planning on figuring that out later. The minute I got into my car, it was time to go to the Google! I found out that these quirky little veggies are neither seaweed or a cactus but a succulent that grows near the beach and in marshy areas. This is where their intense salty flavor comes from. Right from the start, I figured these edible beach flora would probably be better cold then cooked. Thinking that boiling them might make the sea beans too soggy and lose some of their crunch, I decided to steam them for a few minutes. There is something about the saltiness that lends itself to an Asian flavor so I added some sesame oil, a touch of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sesame seeds. Letting it chill in the fridge for a little while, it made a tasty salad. Apparently, these funky vegetables are seasonal and are only around in the summer months, so track them down now if you're interested. I'm thinking next time they might be a good edition to the lobster pot along with some steamers!