Vegan Bean Salad

So, I've been e-mailing my lady Erin about food and life and how much I miss chugging caffeinated beverages and working out with her. She's pretty much over cooking/baking. I can't blame her. She has worked in the restaurant industry for about a decade! But, I made this little number for dinner tonight in homage to Erin. It's pretty, it's simple and it's packed with wonderfulness (just like her).

Recipe:
I bag Frozen Organic Shelled Edamame
3 Fist fulls of Green Beans (trimmed and cut in half)
2 Ears of Sweet Corn (cut off the cob)
1 15oz can Red Kidney Beans (drained and rinsed)
Dressing:
1 large Shallot (diced)
1 tbsp Poppy seeds
1 tbsp Dijon
2 tbsp Honey
1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 cup Veg Oil (I used Organic Canola)

So, boil some water for the edamame. Once its boiling, throw the edamame in and let it get back to a boiling temperature. Once you are there, throw the green beans in. Cook for 4-6 minutes. Drain. Steam your corn if it's not fresh and then cut it and mix all beans and corn together in a bowl. Then (either whisk or use a food processor) mix the vinegar, shallot, mustard, honey, poppy seeds and oil (oil last) for the dressing. I found that this made two times the amount of dressing that I needed so I saved it in hopes of making more Bean Salad later this week. Last, toss the Bean-Corn mixture with dressing and eat. I don't mind eating this dish a little warm, but its much better if you make it and then eat it the next day for lunch. It is superb when it's cold.

This meal should take you no longer than 15 minutes to prepare. It's a fast one!

Szechuan Green Beans and Brown Rice

We like it hot here in the Vaughn-Pierce household. Spice is mandatory and a cure for any seasonal stuffiness. These Szechuan Green Beans are tasty alone with brown rice or are fucking radd with my homemade Peanut Sauce (I'll get around to adding that recipe some day soon). I'll detail the beans, you make your rice as you wish.

Recipe:
Three fist fulls of fresh green beans, ends trimmed
6-12 (6 for some spice, 12 for some kick) dried Chiles de Arbol (found at Whole Foods, click on link for a visual)
2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
3 green onions (chopped chunky)
1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon on peanut or sesame oil

Get a large frying pan hot at Medium-high heat with the oil. Toss the beans, chiles and red pepper flakes in at the same time. Constantly stir or move veggies in pan for about a minute. Add the onion and squeeze the juice from half a lemon over the mix. Don't let the onion sit on heat for longer than 45sec. Pull from heat and serve hot over rice. Yum!