Daily Garnish » vegetarian

Last weekend, we visited one of my favorite weekend spots in Seattle – the Ballard farmer’s market. Among the overflowing baskets of cherries and fresh peaches, I also stumbled across an impressive display of fresh beans.

I hadn’t planned on buying any produce, but something about those dark purple beans was too intriguing to pass up. I ended up filling a bag with the solid purple beans, as well as another variety that was purple and green speckled. I wish I could remember the names of these varieties!

Back at home, I had an idea for a green bean salad I had been wanting to make ever since I had tried something similar at a restaurant a few nights prior. The beans mysteriously turned from purple to green when they were cooked, but it sure didn’t affect the freshness or the flavor.

Green Bean and Mushroom Sesame Salad

Print this recipe!

Ingredients: (serves 4)

2 lbs green beans (or purple beans!)
10 crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 medium cucumber, sliced and halved
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp grapeseed oil (or other mild oil)
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp amino acids (or soy sauce)
1/4 tsp stone ground mustard
salt to taste
sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Instructions: Whether your beans are purple, green, or blue – the cooking method is all the same.

Start by trimming off the woody ends and cutting the beans into bite sized pieces. Add to a large mixing bowl and rinse.

In a smaller bowl or jar, combine oils, vinegar, aminos (or soy sauce), and mustard.

Whisk or shake to combine into a dressing!

Slice mushrooms…

And sauté over medium high heat until softened and browned.

While the mushrooms cook, bring a large pot of water up to a boil and blanch beans for 3-5 minutes, just until tender.

When beans are beginning to soften, drain pot into a colander to cool. Remove mushrooms from cooking pan and add to beans to allow them to cool as well.

While beans and mushrooms are cooling, halve and slice your cucumber into thin moons. (De-seeding is optional!) Add cucumber to a large mixing bowl.

Combine beans, mushrooms, and cucumbers and pour dressing over the salad. Mix well to thoroughly combine, and allow flavors to marinate for at least 30 minutes before serving. Add any additional salt to taste, and garnish with sesame seeds before serving.

Sesame is one of my all-time favorite flavors, and this salad has that perfect blend of Asian sweetness and tang that I love so much.

Serve along side some brown rice and crispy tofu for an Asian-inspired dinner, or enjoy the leftovers cold for lunch the next day. This is one of those salads that just gets better with time.

Enjoy!

I am flying high in the sky over South Dakota right now, en route to Cincinnati for a weekend at home and my baby shower! While I’m traveling, I hope you enjoy a simple summer recipe that we love in our house.

In my opinion, sometimes the best recipes are the least complicated. In the summer, all I want to eat are berries and salads, making the most of the fresh seasonal produce that I know I will miss so much once the weather changes. Corn is one of those vegetables I look forward to all year long. While of course you can find it year round, nothing compares to the crisp sweet ears you find in August.

This salad is actually raw – no need to cook the corn ahead of time. The lime juice softens it just enough, and combined with avocado and tomatoes, it is just the right mix of textures and flavors. You can eat it with a fork, but I’d say it’s best when scooped with some salty tortilla chips.

Summer Corn and Avocado Salad

Ingredients: (serves 4)

4 ears yellow or white corn (uncooked)
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced
1 lime, juiced
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
2 avocados, cubed
salt, to taste

Instructions: First off, I’m going to show you a trick. Have you ever tried cutting corn off the cob and had the kernels bounce and fly everywhere? I’m going to save you from having that happen again. Take a small bowl and turn it upside down inside a larger bowl, like so…

Then prop the corn up on the base of the small bowl and being to carefully cut the kernels off using a sharp knife.

The large bowl catches all the runaway kernels, while the small bowl props the ear of corn up high enough that you can cut all the way to the bottom without the loose corn getting in the way.

Viola! Don’t say I never taught you anything. Cut all four ears of corn into a large mixing bowl.

Slice the grape tomatoes lengthwise, and add to the bowl with the corn.

For a little bit of an herby punch, chop 1/2 cup fresh cilantro and add to the salad.

Toss veggies with the juice of one lime and a few pinches of salt to taste. Allow flavors to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Before serving, dice avocados and combine with the rest of the salad. You won’t want to add these until you are close to meal time, or else the avocados will brown.

Mix it all and adjust seasoning to taste, then serve!