Before I had children I used to be a more elaborate cook. I prepared more sauces and used more interesting seasonings. When my children were little, they liked simple, single ingredient foods. They were much more receptive to carrots, for example, than carrots with a ginger glaze. My son has grown to like more savory seasonings. But my daughter still likes simple food - or at least I thought she did.

Several weeks ago we had company for dinner, and I decided to fix green beans. I pulled out one of my old recipes - basil green beans - just to make the vegetable a little fancier for our guests.

Then I went back to plain green beans for the family. My daughter said, "These green beans don't taste the same as they did when our friends were over." I explained that I had used more seasoning for our guests. "Oh," she said, "Those were really good."

I should have taken the hint, but simple food is a habit. Tonight she came in to set the table and help with drinks. She peeked into the pots. When she saw green beans, she said, "Could you do those fancy green beans again?" I did, and we all enjoyed them. I thought you might enjoy them too.

Green Beans

Salt to taste

Garlic powder

½ tsp dried basil

Begin cooking the green beans in your usual way. Sprinkle garlic powder lightly over the cooking beans. Crush the dried basil between your fingers as you add it to the beans.

It is a very easy, but very flavorful way to serve green beans. And my daughter, who usually prefers plain food, thinks they are delicious.