Seeing that so many of you are familiar with sea beans, I'll keep the description brief.
The genus Salicornia is a salt-tolerant herb that grows along beaches in the US (where they are known as sea beans), Europe (known as samphire), South Africa and South Asia. Other common names include glasswort and pickleweed.
I was introduced to sea beans while baking at a restaurant, where they made a brief appearance on the savory side. Their succulent salinity (and a dare) challenged me to find a sweet application. Using the flavor of salted caramel as inspiration, I coated them with burnt caramelized sugar. The results were addictive. The sweet crust cracked, giving way to a snappy crunch, followed by a hit of refreshing salinity.
My introduction to cardamom preceded sea beans by at least a decade and was far more dramatic. Opening a jar and inhaling deeply, I was met by a hot breeze that had traveled across hundreds of miles of ocean and sand. Another whiff confirmed the scent of saltwater drying on hot skin, seaweed and sand baking under an unrelenting sun, ground-up sea shells. Clean, bracing, and unambiguously masculine, I fancied it a cologne created by a deep-sea alchemist for Poseidon himself. I still refer to cardamom as beach-in-a-bottle.
A Virtual Day at the Beach
Contents:
Sea bean: nam pla sugar crust.
Salt water taffy meets umami-o-the-sea.Cardamom sable sand: Toasted rice flour, butter, poncillo, cardamom, lime, sea salt.
A game of beach volleyball; sweet vs. salty.Pearl: A burst of briny oyster liquor kissed by passion fruit.
Hot sex on a tropical beach.
Directions:
Smell. Taste. Chew. Swallow. Savor. Enjoy. Listen to the squalling seagulls and lapping waves.
(seashell and iPod not included)
Playing with Fire and Water 
In Vancouver Canada they call them Sea Asparagus I remember eating them for the first time going it in no way taste like asparagus
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This sounds like it tastes like genius. You are brilliant : ) I am having so much fun reading your blog. Thanks so much.
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Maybe you could have added Rene Redzepi’s beach onions to this dish… what the hell was that anyway? seagull eggs? beach onions? It’s like they’re painting with a whole new set of crayons up there.
Send me your address again. I have copies of some of the demo’s finally finished (with shaky handed camcorder footage of course).
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