We ate a lot of Three Bean Salad when I was a kid.  During the summer, my mother made it frequently.  I think it was because we all liked it, it made a huge batch and it kept well.  All that, and we had almost everything growing in the garden.  I started with her recipe, then took a flying leap!  This is all about green beans and much less about the usual legume-type beans.  I tossed other things in, but the vinaigrette is all hers…well, except for the Sherry vinegar.  She might have used that, but we knew nothing about such a wonder.  Mother always used apple cider vinegar.  We never, ever cooked with white vinegar.  That was for cleaning and I still follow that thought.  Anyway, she always added some mustard.  She used dry mustard, but I use Dijon.  We didn’t know about Dijon mustard yet; either works well.

This is a sweet and sour vinaigrette.  I make it sweeter, because The Spicy Honey prefers it that way.  But, I’m giving you the amount for a “normal” vinaigrette.  If you want it sweeter, increase the sugar or add honey, to taste.  Both are good options.

I prefer to blanch fresh green beans.  To do that, you simple plunge them into boiling water, cook until they reach the doneness you prefer; for me it’s at about the 4-5 minute mark.  Then, remove the beans and plunge them into heavily iced water.  This stops the cooking process and sets that nice bright green color. Drain them well before using.  In general, blanching beans (or broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, etc.) is a good idea when you purchase green beans and realize you’re not going to use them for a couple of days.  They will keep maturing, unless you blanch them.  Then, d, wrap them in paper toweling or a towel, place them in a food storage bag and refrigerate until needed.  They will keep at least 3 or 4 days this way.  Then just reheat them or use as desired.

For the salad, place all the salad ingredients in a bowl.  Place all the vinaigrette ingredients in jar with a tight-fitting lid.  Now shake the jar like crazy, for at least 30 seconds.  Pour the vinaigrette over the salad, give everything a good stir and then taste.  If you want a sweeter salad, drizzle some honey over the salad and re-stir.  Cover and chill for at least a couple of hours, or overnight.  My mother always made the vinaigrette the day before she was going to use it.  I think it was because she wanted the sugar to be dissolved, but I don’t find that to be an issue.  Stir before serving.  You can add minced parsley or fresh basil, but I still prefer this salad just like like it is.  This a great salad to tote places.  I think you’ll like this version of bean salad.