The Covered Dish - Marinated Vegetable Salad

As I approached Memorial Day weekend, I knew exactly what I was craving! I also knew how easy the recipe would double allowing us to share a portion with our son, Phillip, and his wife, Paige. Full of bountiful vegetables and the ability to hold for up to 7 days in the refrigerator are additional assets of this delicious salad. Not to mention the beautiful presentation in makes at serving time.
I went back into my archives to find I haven’t shared this recipe since 2018. So let’s dive in-
The origin of this particular salad bears lots of memories for me. It was my first introduction to Ervin’s, grandmother, Lucille Lakin. She prepared a lovely lunch for us in the early days of our courtship. We were engaged in December, so I’d say it was a late summer or early fall. Every item was in a special dish, and there were multiple on the table. I had no idea, at that time, how much Grandma Lakin would come to mean to me.
All the ingredients are easy to come by, except the shoe peg corn. If you live in a small town your grocery may not carry them. Typically this is a very refreshing and light salad. Regular yellow corn will work, but it’s just a little on the heavy side. With the peas I use thawed frozen peas instead of canned most of the time. If you use the canned peas, as indicated I would suggest only a good quality of peas, not an off brand.
The dressing can be used in other marinated salads with unique approaches. I’m sure you will be able to create a simple Italian recipe with fresh herbs added to the dressing. Sometimes I wish a salad of this style was in our refrigerator at least every other week.
I would like to quickly hit upon the use of the raw peppers and onion in the dish. Typically; I would not be able to eat this salad because of these two raw vegetables. However; if the salad is made 24 hours before serving I can enjoy every bite! Why? The vinegar pulls off the sting from the peppers and raw onion. I can enjoy this for several days without growing tired of the dish.
I thought I was going to make a batch of pear honey today, but the pears that were given to me didn’t have much flavor. I think it was due to the fact they were totally out of season. This certainly opened up other options for the holiday. Enjoy the week. Simply yours, The Covered Dish.

Marinated Vegetable Salad
1 can french style green beans
1 can white shoe peg corn
1 can petite size peas
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
1 small jar of pimentos, chopped, drained
1 cup finely chopped celery
Dressing
3⁄4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 cup white wine vinegar
1⁄2 cup oil of choice.
Drain all canned vegetables and mix together with onion, celery and pepper in large bowl.
Heat the sugar, vinegar and salt until it comes to a boil and all sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool and add oil, blending well. Pour over the vegetables. Keeps for up to 7 days in the refrigerator.