Three Bean Salad

Our garden is bursting with beans! We grow 4 types of beans: yellow wax bush beans, purple French bush beans, long green pole beans, and Asian yard-long red noodle pole beans. I especially like the long green beans as I don't have to pick very many since they are about a foot long. We get our seeds from Johnny's Selected Seeds in Albion, Maine. When the beans are ready, we usually serve fresh beans almost every night. I love it when they are so fresh they squeak when you bite into them, even after they have been cooked. Three bean salad is simple to make, so much better than the store-bought kind. It tastes so fresh and the color is splendid. Here is my recipe, handed down from my Mom.

Fresh Three-Bean Salad

1 and 1/2 cups sliced fresh green beans
1 and 1/2 cups sliced fresh yellow wax beans
1 can of kidney beans
1/2 red onion
1 medium shallot, finely minced
1 T light oil like Canola oil
4 T cider vinegar (I prefer to use white balsamic)
1 T sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
pinch of dry mustard

1. Cut the beans into 2 inch pieces and parboil for 3-4 minutes. remove from heat, drain, and cool.
2. Cut half an onion into 2 quarters. Rest the flat side on the cutting board and slice the onion into paper thin slivers.
3. Put beans, onion, and drained kidney beans in a bowl.
4. Add minced shallot and mix all together.
5. Mix vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, and pepper together.
6. Pour over veggies and toss until mixed.
7. You can chill this salad but it really tastes best served at room temperature.
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