Cool Veggie Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

It's been so hot out lately, I've been craving something cool and easy to make.  This hit the spot!  The chopping is a bit tedious, but there is no cooking time to follow and the dressing can all be poured into one container, eliminating extra mess.

For this recipe you will need:

• 1/2 of a 14 oz can of unsalted garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 generous handful fresh green beans (about 15 green beans)
• 1/2 cucumber, julienne 
• 1/3 yellow pepper, julienne

 In a medium sauce pot, boil water to prepare for the green beans.  While the water heats up, rinse and drain the entire contents of the 14 oz can of garbanzo beans.  1/2 of the beans can be easily stored in any air tight bag or container.  Don't remove too much!

Boil the string beans just until tender.  When finished drain out the boiled water and move the green beans directly to a bath of cold water and ice in a medium bowl to shock them.

Once the green beans are cool, transfer them from the ice bath to a cutting board.  Trim the beans top and bottom and cut in half lengthwise to expose the center (try to go along the crease of the bean).  Cut in half horizontally to create easy to eat bite sizes.

Rinse and peel the cucumber.  To julienne the cucumber, start by slicing it into rounds as you normally would for a salad.  Stack three or four slices on top of one another and bring the knife down to create thin strips.  Be sure to hold the stack firmly, cucumbers are slippery!

To prepare the pepper, cut off the top to remove the stem and trim the bottom to create an even surface.  Remove 1/3 of the pepper to use in this recipe.  Store the rest in an air-tight container to use another day.  To julienne the pepper carefully cut it from top to bottom into very thin strips.  If your strips are a bit long for bite sizes, cut them in half once horizontally.

Transfer all of your chopped veggies to a medium bowl and toss to mix.  Add lemon dressing (recipe follows) and toss to coat.

Lemon Dressing:
for this recipe you will need:

• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
• pinch sea salt
• pinch freshly ground black pepper
• splash Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
• thyme leaves (to taste)
• 1/8 tsp garlic poweder

Add the 1/4 cup olive oil to a small pitcher (I used a 1 cup sized measuring cup to measure the olive oil in first and then added all of the rest of the ingredients to it).  Add the rest of the ingredients to the pitcher and stir with a fork until well combined.

Use the dressing to coat the veggies.  Serve immediately or let sit for an hour in the fridge before serving.  Reserve any extra dressing to use on future salads.