The Three (or Four) Bean Salad is a staple at potlucks. So is the rhyme that goes with them: “Beans, beans the magical fruit. The more you eat, the more you toot.” (Lovely, Clare!)

4 bean salad

whisk wet ingredients

here come the beans

mix together

Believe it or not, I never heard this rhyme until college. We didn’t discuss bodily functions in my home growing up. One time I said to my Great Aunt Polly that I was sweating. She corrected me: “Horses sweat, men perspire and women glow.” Now you can learn all about the human body and its’ various malfunctions on TV commercials.

We’ve been glowing a lot this summer with ten days of 100 degrees or higher temps just in July. It hasn’t been this hot since the 1930’s dust bowl days. Not a soothing thought. I think this must be causing the tumbleweeds of dust living in the corners of my house. It couldn’t be because I don’t want to dust, right?

The heat is the reason I’ve prepared more salads. The recipes for the three–or–four bean salads usually mix vegetables and beans soaked in tangy light syrup similar to a sweet pickle juice. I searched cookbooks for variations and they are endless. Ironically as I was picking up beans at the grocery store, I noticed Three Bean Salad by the can. I don’t do much canned food, so I wasn’t tempted. I did, however, purchase the wax and green beans in a can for the salad to simplify the recipe. And I added an extra bean to give it more color, flavor and protein.

You could eat this as a main dish but it’s usually a side dish.

Note: all cans were about 15 oz in weight – or about 2 cups. Feel free to use fresh or frozen beans, but cook them a bit first.
Purchase low sodium beans if salt is an issue for you. If you can’t find low sodium, rinse the beans well.

Ingredients
¼ cup honey
¼ cup sugar
½ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup light olive oil
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 can green beans
1 can wax beans
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
½ onion, minced
½ red pepper, diced

Directions
Whisk the first six ingredients together in a large bowl.
Add the beans and vegetables and toss until blended.
Chill for at least 4 hours. Overnight is even better.

Serve Four Bean Salad cold on a hot summer’s day. It’s light and refreshing and so easy to make.