Inspired by Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood and the 3 Bean Salad (edamame/kidney/garbanzo) by Jason’s Deli. At the risk of sounding snooty, I must say I was rather impressed by the latter. Jason’s Deli – you exceeded by expectations for quality and innovation. Quinoa in mainstream, fast food fare – didn’t see that coming.

Ingredients:

1 c. vegetable stock
1/2 c. red quinoa
1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained & rinsed (be sure to remove any shells)
1 can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 c. edamame beans, boiled & drained (I use ones from the freezer section)
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 hatch chile pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1/4 c. cilantro, diced/torn into small pieces
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. dried Mexican oregano
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Method:

In a medium saucepan, bring vegetable stock to a boil. Add quinoa, cover and boil gently for ~10 minutes. Remove from burner and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile in a large (large!) bowl mix freshly cut peppers, celery, onion, and cilantro.  Add edamame, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and finally quinoa.  Mix well – gentle hands to just fine.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together apple cider vingar, olive oil, garlic, oregano, & black pepper.  Pour dressing evenly over beans & vegetables, and using a large spoon mix well.

Can be served immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 10-12 servings.

In November, the Saturday before Thanksgiving, we flew into Chicago to visit friends and family up north for a week.  It had been an early day for us – I think we got up that morning at 4:30 am – and so by the time our flight arrived at ORD late morning I was starving. Airports being what they are, I wasn’t expecting much in the way of semi-healthy food I could eat at 10:45 in the morning as a snack between breakfast and lunch.

As it so happens, we found a wonderful little Mediterranean place just a few gates down from our arrival with an array of healthy options. Among them was a scrumptious Tuscan White Bean Salad with Rosemary and Garlic. The dish was served cold, and the rosemary and garlic formed the main flavors.

Ya’ll it was SO GOOD. I resolved to make my own version of the dish at home.

And so I did.  And my version sucked. BIG TIME.  (I followed Julia’s suggestion to “never apologize” and we ate it anyway.)

At least the pictures turned out well.

I’ll let you know how future iterations progress.  I’m determined to add this one to the repertoire. Perhaps one of the following will be more successful.

• Tuscan white bean salad (cuisine.com)
• Tuscan White Bean Salad (Elana’s Pantry)
• Rosemary Tuscan White Bean Dip (Wellsphere) – I wonder if I can make a version of this without beef stock and un-pureed.