Three Bean Salad

I have an inordinate amount of guilt about 3 bean salad- guilt this recipe finally relieves.  My godmother, who is a wonderful woman, always made three bean salad.  Her version involved kidney beans, canned green beans, and canned wax beans.  I never liked it- something about the texture.  Now the last time I had it I was under 12, for sure, so I may feel differently about it now.  But this recipe I would put up against hers any day!  The fresh green beans are my adaption, and the major reason I love it.  The blanching makes them crisp but tender, and very green.  Draining the marinade prevents it from getting too pungent, or too soggy.

The other nice thing about this recipe is that it's meat free and keeps all week.  So after reading Food Matters, I decided we needed to be meat-reduced - that book basically argues you should have 2 meat free dinners a week, and no meat until dinner time.   This is perfect for a meat free lunch!

Three Bean Salad
Adapted from Allrecipes
Ingredients

1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 lb green beans
4 green onions, chopped
1 stalk celery, sliced

1/2 cup tarragon or cider vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon ground dry mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions
Trim the green beans.  Boil the green beans for 3 minutes, then drain in a colander and plunge into ice water until cool.  Then drain again.

In a bowl, gently mix the garbanzo beans, kidney beans, green beans, green onions, and celery. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, honey, mustard, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. Pour dressing over the salad, and toss gently to coat. Cover, refrigerate at least 2 hours, then remove as much marinade as you can.  Gently toss before serving.