Thursday, December 01, 2005

Salad (practically) out of the pantry



Green Bean Salad
Big Kitchen Instruction Book Copyright 1998

2 (16-ounce) cans cut green beans, drained
1 (16-ounce) can wax beans, drained
1 (16-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 red Bermuda onion, sliced I chopped
½ cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup vinegar
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
dash Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Mix beans in a large bowl with onion. Blend remaining ingredients and toss with beans. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours, stirring from time to time.

Makes 10-12 servings.

I was going to make a facetious comment about what an exotic recipe this was, since I've been eating three-bean salad for years - it's everywhere - I've just never made it. But then my husband informed me that he had never had bean salad before, as he went for another serving. I know that he's been eating off the same salad bars as I have for the past several years so I'm not sure how he's managed to miss it.

I'm not too proud to admit I like canned green beans. I know many people abhor canned vegetables but I was raised on them and my son enjoys them too. This has not been a great year for fresh produce, in our area at least, and I like recipes that can be thrown together out of the pantry. This bean salad was better than the jarred or salad bar variety (which almost always comes out of a jar) since this had oil in the dressing. I was a little rough with my beans, shaking the bowl to mix it up occasionally. Some of the beans got a bit smooshed but it was still delicious.

I like this basic cookbook. It was a bargain find, originally meant as a gift for a novice cook that never got given. I've made good use of it, I think.

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