Summertime beckons delicious selections of colorful vegetables. Our home gardens are exploding like a color palette from summer squash to green beans. It is fun to experiment with creative cooking when the harvest yield is abundant and this is how I created my Summer Green Bean Amandine. First, wash and snap the green beans. Steam the green beans with butter and seasoning. Then, in the food processor, crumble fresh almonds. Don’t over crush the almonds because you don’t want almond paste. You do want crumbled almonds. In a buttered casserole dish layer the steamed & seasoned green beans with the almond crumble, leaving the last layer with green beans on top. Drizzle fresh lemon on top and then top the dish with sliced almonds. Just prior to serving, heat the casserole thoroughly and then briefly broil the top to toast a sliced almond topping. Zing into the summer vegetable season and it is so easy! © Kelly McBride Loft