Scraps and Snippets ~ Edamame... The Little Green Giant...

I have a recipe that is a fall back. I got if from my mother-in-law years ago. And I make it often. But not so often that I have actually committed it to my memory. It's a shadowy-in-my-mind kind of recipe. 

And here's the deal. It counts as Americana in my book because the dang hand-written, blurred recipe is at least twenty years old. And it probably came from a newspaper which was equivalent to Pinterest back in the day. Kinda. 

Anyhoo. I couldn't find the recipe to adapt and use as a centerpiece for edamame. Nope. The picture may give you a clue. I have this HUGE binder recipe book. When I am organized the book is as well. However, when I'm not, which is more likely, the recipes end up in four or five other places like one of the many other cookbooks on my shelf. You can see the classic red and white gal, and beneath her an entire shelf of cookbooks, and out of sight is another shelf. Ugh. So after looking for 30 minutes I decided to rely on the shadow memory and throw together what I think is the recipes. Tastes like it, and pretty dang good which is why I've held onto the original for twenty years (until recently parted, of course). 

1/2 to 1 cup edamame (I used frozen raw)
1 head of broccoli florets (or I'm thinking a package of broccoli slaw would be great, too)
grape, cherry or chunks of tomato (I used about a cup and 1/2)
1/2 to 1 cup Kalamata olives (or any olive will do, or use onions, or cauliflower or mushrooms etc.

Dressing:

3 TBSP red wine vinegar
2 TBSP olive (or your favorite) oil
1 TBSP lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp Italian seasoning blend

This is a totally adaptable recipe. I usually use the veggies I have on hand. A summer squash or zucchini cubed would be excellent. As would cucumbers. Mushrooms are amazing in it. You can use any type of bean, too. White/Navy or garbanzos would be especially yummy. Toss in nuts if you want the extra protein or mouth feel. Speaking of protein. Not only is there 29 grams from the edamame in this salad...but broccoli has approx 4 grams a cup, too. Tossing brown rice into the mix would give you 8 additional grams for the salad. Tomatoes are worth about 2. So if four people nosh on it your looking at 8-10 grams a person. And don't forget that Edamame is a complete protein source, too.