Edamame is not only for Japanese restaurants !

I am back after a lot of travel ! A week after getting back from our honeymoon, we spent the weekend in Charleston, SC for a wedding. We had such a great time listening to Dixie Land jazz during brunch, browsing the historic Charleston markets, checking out the cute stores along King Street and East Bay Street, attending all the wedding events and seeing some great historic homes along the water. Our favorite activity was eating crab cake sandwiches on amazingly fresh sour dough bread with sweet potato fries at Magnolia on East Bay Street. We walked in there accidentally and we were not disappointed. This restaurant was mentioned in one of my favorite books, "1000 places to see before you die" ! There is a great kitchen store called "Charleston Cooks" on East Bay that had what looked to be great cooking classes as well ! I wish I had know about it before I got there ! http://www.mavericksouthernkitchens.com/cooks/index.html

Anyway, I digress....So, we are back to real life and I have started cooking again !
Tonight, I whipped out this Williams-Sonoma cookbook called "The Essentials of Healthful Cuisine", we got it as a wedding present and the first recipe I tried was a hit !
Here is the recipe with my tweaks....I was trying to make it taste like this wonderful edamame salad I used to have by the pool in Kona on our honeymoon....I've never cooked with edamame before, I like it ! This makes a very fresh, summer side dish !

Edamame Salad (makes 4 servings)

1 package frozen shelled edamame (10 or 12 oz)
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup minced red peppers
1 tomato- chopped small
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1.5 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
a dash of fresh mint
S&P to taste

Bring a saucepan of 5 cups of water to a boil. Add the edamame and cook according to instructions. Drain the edamame and set aside.
In a salad bowl, mix tomatoes, edamame, onion and bell pepper.
In a small bowl, whisk together rice vinegar, canola oil, soy sauce, orange zest and ginger until blended. Pour the dressing on the vegetables and stir. Mince some fresh mint and throw it in !

The original recipe called for 2 navel oranges and cilantro garnishing, so you can do that instead of the tomatoes and mint....

Enjoy this healthy dish. It is easy to make, especially if you make the edamame ahead of time. This one is a great one to have on hand for lunches the next day ! Bet the flavors will be even better tomorrow. Edamame beans are low in fat, high in protein, calcium, iron and B vitamins...so eat up !