By: Victoria
Hamilton, Author of Muffin But Trouble, Merry Muffin Mystery #6.
When I was a kid
there were quite a few things I would not eat; canned peas, onions, anything
with onions in it, stewed tomatoes and… onions. I really hated onions. Mom
tried EVERYTHING to get me to eat them, including grinding them up to add to
meat pies, and giving me my very own onion chopper for me to use, (which I
still have and treasure!) thinking I would eat onions if I had a hand in
preparing then. I chopped them, but still would not eat them. I sat at the
table long after dinner a LOT.
Another of those
adult dishes that I could not comprehend was the dreadedly ubiquitous summer
picnic dish … Bean Salad. I mean… beans.
As a salad. It didn’t make sense. In
the '60s we didn’t eat salad unless it was encased in gelatin.
So… I hated it.
And now… I love it. Can’t get enough of it. I’ll eat it as a snack. Here, for your
delectation, is my Old Fashioned Too-Many-Beans-To-Count Salad. I make it
several times over the summer.
Old Fashioned Bean
Salad
Ingredients:
Cans of beans: Green,
Wax (Yellow), (10 ounce cans) a Bean Mix and Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) as well
as, if you like, Cannellini, or White Kidney Beans. Your choice, but limit it
to four small/medium cans of beans total for the amount of dressing this makes.
I happen to like Chickpeas, but if you don’t, just use another can of mixed
beans.
Sweet Onion like a
Vidalia, Spanish or Bermuda: half cup, chopped to your own taste… I like mine
finely diced.
Red (or orange, green, yellow) Pepper: half
cup, chopped, again, to your taste. I like a fine dice, but you may prefer big
happy chunks of pepper!
1/2 cup Celery,
chopped.
Scant palm full of
Parsley and Basil, chopped. Omit if you’re not fond of herbs.
1/2 cup any clearish
light-flavored oil; canola is my choice.
1/2 cup white
vinegar: plain, white wine, or apple cider; your taste, your choice. Use plain
white vinegar if you’re not sure. I used a blend of white wine vinegar and
plain white, because though I love the flavor of white wine vinegar, it has a
very specific fruity flavor.
1/2 to 3/4 cup white
sugar; I do something in between because 3/4 cup is too much, to me, though most
of the recipes I’ve seen call for it.
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp celery salt
or regular salt
Method:
Combine the oil, vinegar,
sugar, salt and pepper and whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved. Set
aside.
Drain all the
beans. I like to chop the green and yellow beans to smaller sizes consistent
with the chickpeas, etc.
Dice the onion,
celery and peppers and mix completely in a large bowl with the beans.
Cover with the
dressing and mix well. Store it in the fridge in a large container. Let it
marinate at least 24 hours before trying it. If you taste it too soon you will
think it bland; it will be better than it tastes at first… TRUST me! If you
think there is too little dressing, you can always make another batch and pour
it over. If you don’t, and the dressing doesn’t cover the beans, mix the salad
up every day so the beans soak in the flavor.
Then… enjoy! A welcome
addition to a barbecue, and you can make it ahead. In fact, it will stay good
in your fridge for at least three weeks, a good and good-for-you accompaniment
for cold summer meals.
***
Giveaway: I am
giving away one paperback copy of Muffin
But Trouble, Book #6 of the newly revived Merry Muffin Mystery series! AND…
a cute skull teaspoon to stir your favorite poison! Just leave a message below.
Canadian and US
entries welcome.
Check out my
Facebook page and follow me for more giveaways: Victoria Hamilton Mystery Author
Check out my
website and sign up for my newsletter for book release info and giveaways: Victoria Hamilton Mysteries
About Muffin But Trouble:
In the new Merry Muffin Mystery
from the author of Muffin to Fear, baker Merry Wynter must
confront a spiritual guru who may be up to something far from heavenly . . .
With plans for a new performing arts center at Wynter Castle taking up all her time, baker Merry Wynter has been all but unaware of the fringe group compound near her small town— until a street preacher accosts her with taunts of doom and damnation.
Worried that some of her close friends may have been lured in by the group and its charismatic leader, Merry begins digging into the ministry—and soon suspects they may have ties to the recent death of a young woman and the disappearance of many others.
With her rebellious teen friend Lizzie at her side, Merry steps in to confront the eerily submissive community and its misguided members, skeptical of their supposed spiritual leanings. When another young woman vanishes and Merry realizes the lives of people close to her are at stake, she will stop at nothing to uncover the group’s sinister secrets before the murderous ministry can strike again . . .
With plans for a new performing arts center at Wynter Castle taking up all her time, baker Merry Wynter has been all but unaware of the fringe group compound near her small town— until a street preacher accosts her with taunts of doom and damnation.
Worried that some of her close friends may have been lured in by the group and its charismatic leader, Merry begins digging into the ministry—and soon suspects they may have ties to the recent death of a young woman and the disappearance of many others.
With her rebellious teen friend Lizzie at her side, Merry steps in to confront the eerily submissive community and its misguided members, skeptical of their supposed spiritual leanings. When another young woman vanishes and Merry realizes the lives of people close to her are at stake, she will stop at nothing to uncover the group’s sinister secrets before the murderous ministry can strike again . . .
Meet the Author:
