Quarantine Cooking__Navy Bean Salad

This was another food experiment for me to pass on to Son3 and DIL3 who are maintaining a quarantine lifestyle in their small NYC apartment. They are well stocked, but in a small space you can only find room for so much, so I am playing with food they have on hand and will pass the results (only if they are successful) on to them and whoever else is reading this.

I keep dried beans* on hand all the time and thought some would make a perfectly decent meal. Trust me, I am not above having beans and rice for dinner and really do enjoy it, but I am playing with ingredients to come up with very flavorful ways to use common foods in a slightly different way. I have said before TheHub is a very willing partner and tries anything without complaint, but I also try to make sure whatever we are going to eat is packed with flavor, and hopefully looks tasty. After all, the first bite of any meal we take is with our eyes.

                                                                                                Navy Bean Salad

2 cups cooked, drained and cooled navy beans (use any white bean, but if using canned drain them first)
4 radishes in matchstick slices
1 cup baby carrots, cut into coins, par cooked to a crisp tender, then cooled
1 seeded minced jalapeno (I would have used bell pepper but I had none)
I cup fresh spinach sliced into ribbons
1 rib celery, minced
1/4 cup minced red onion.

For the dressing:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup vinegar (I used wine vinegar but use whatever you want or have on hand)
seasonings   I used about 2 teaspoons of Trader Joe's "everything. but the bagel" seasoning blend.
Use any seasonings or seasoning blend you like. Blend the ingredients, then blend again right before serving.
salt (optional)
pepper (optional)
Or, if you prefer, use an oil and vinegar based bought dressing.

In a large bowl mix all the vegetables together, toss the dressing throughout, gently so the beans will not break. I stuck mine in a covered bowl and let is sit in the fridge most of the day.When it got to be dinner time the meal was as simple as scoop and serve.  Normally I would put this on a lettuce leaf so it would look prettier, but these days I am not using food for plating purposes, I have one heart of romaine lettuce left and it is earmarked for a side salad, not decoration.

This is just made with what I had on hand. I would have preferred some tomatoes, but I am saving those for another meal. After I added the chopped red onion I remembered I had scallions and would have used them instead. Marinated artichoke hearts would have been a great addition and so would black olives (which I had but didn't think of beforehand).

This was a really tasty  and filling meal. I served it along with cornbread which I made using a mix and adding the remaining creamed corn that was leftover after making the tuna patties. (Because as I have said I am aiming for zero food waste)  There is enough of the salad left for a couple of light lunches for me.
I will make this again but I am sure I will use entirely different veggies, based on what is in the produce drawer at the time.

Give it a try, it was really good!

* Cooking dried beans is a really simple process. Wash and sort them the night before, put them in a pan with about 2 inches of water covering the beans. Leave overnight and the next day, drain the beans, add more water and salt. Bring them to a boil, then lower the heat and cover until they are soft. (About 45 minutes - 1 hour) Add more water as necessary.