recipes 55, 56, and 57: beans meet caprese!

First of all, WHAT? A post on a weekday morning? That's right! Moving along... Allow me to introduce my favorite diagram, the Venn:

Here is the history of the Venn diagram: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venn_diagram.

Here's how it relates to this blog: Everybody loves caprese salad! Everybody (well, maybe not everybody) loves bean salad! What happens when caprese meets beans? Two things: first, the intersection area of the Venn happens! Second, a flavor explosion of fresh summer deliciousness happens! The first recipe, Auntie Flo's Bean Salad, is from Auntie Flo. The second recipe was sent to me by my mom from, I believe, Family Circle. The third recipe is made up, and can be made up by anybody!

AUNTIE FLO'S BEAN SALAD
Ingredients:
Salad
-equal parts: garbanzo beans, kidney beans, black beans, and cooked green beans (I use one can of each and then an equal amount of green beans)
-thinly sliced red onion and chopped green pepper, to taste
Dressing
-1/2 c cider vinegar
-1/3 c olive oil
-1/2 c sugar
-1 T salt
-1/2 t black pepper

Instructions:
1) mix salad ingredients
2) whisk dressing ingredients
3) mix together and refrigerate for at least a few hours

THREE BEAN CAPRESE SALAD
Ingredients:
Salad
-1/2 lb green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces (I did not heed this directive and my green beans were too long and awkward; I have learned for the future)
-handful of fresh basil leaves, torn
-1 pint of grape tomatoes, halved
-1/2 lb of small mozzarella balls
-1 can of kidney beans
-1 can of garbanzo beans
(note: the bean to tomato ratio can be tweaked depending on your preference for a bean-heavy or caprese-heavy salad)

Dressing
-1/3 c balsamic vinegar
-1/2 T mustard
-1/2 T honey
-salt and pepper to taste
-1/4 c olive oil

Instructions:
1) add the green beans to boiling water and cook for about 4 minutes until crisp-tender; drain and rinse with cold water
2) whisk the dressing ingredients, whisking in the olive oil last
3) mix the salad ingredients and drizzle with the dressing
4) chill and serve

TOMATO MOZZARELLA SALAD
Ingredients:
-1 pint grape tomatoes (halved) and equal parts of small mozzarella balls
-salt and ground black pepper, to taste
-chopped fresh basil, to taste
-olive oil and balsamic vinegar, whisked together, just enough to coat the salad

Instructions:
1) mix, chill, enjoy! SO SIMPLE!