1. I don't think you will want to use as much basil as that. It turns bitter. Much more so than celery seed would.

2. The lima beans - it is assuming garden harvested or fresh store bought beans that would need to be shelled. We have fresh limas in the stores here and the farmers market too - likely just depends on what the local demand is for them. You can leave out the limas completely or you can use canned (drained) or frozen ones - the small green ones usually labeled "baby limas". But the amount would be reduced to 1/2 lb. to account for the weight of the shells.

Or you can also sub canned kidney beans (drained) equivalent of 1/2 lb. Kidney beans is a common sub for 3 bean salad, garbanzos not so much as they get pasty soft.

Hope this helps.

Dave

I would use kidney beans not garbanzos. I agree, the basil may get bitter if you use that much.

Thanks for the heads up on the basil, I've never used dried basil in canning, only fresh.
Also thanks for the bean tips. I'll look for fresh limas but I just don't think I'll find them. Plus, I like the taste of the kidney beans better and I think most people are used to that being the third bean.
How about some fresh oregano from the garden? I put a sprig of fresh basil leaves in jardinaire, can I do that with oregano for the salad? Then I might be able to tolerate the celery seed. I just don't see the point of the celery seed with all that celery in the salad. I'm wondering if a little fennel seed, basil and oregano might be good. But maybe that kills the "sweet and sour" element of the salad. Problem is, I really don't like the traditional salad. When I buy it commercially I doll it up with feta and italian herbs, lol! Also, I'm wondering would it be possible to sub out a couple TBLSPs of white balsamic vinegar, I got some on sale and I really like it. I can't remember what the acceptable ratio is with the wine vinegar strictly as a flavor enhancer.

L, let me know how you like that recipe. I used the one from NCHFP last year that had oil and I didn't care much for it, it was too oily and I didn't like the consistency as much.

If you like this one, I might try it instead.

Annie

How did the garbanzos hold up Annie? If I use beans I'm using my homeade ones, I have kidneys and garbanzos in the freezer.
Dave would that be 1/2 lbs cooked weight? I have a small kitchen scale to weigh them with.

No, since they tell you to shell and then cook it would be 1/2 lb. uncooked as if just shelled.

You are talking about an awfully lot of "tweaking" here. While some changes as discussed in your first post is safe, when you start rewriting so much then you are just creating your own recipe. That is when safety goes out the window.

Fresh herbs normally can't be substituted for dried herbs - they change the pH. So with the exception of the bean substitution, all the adjustments you mention now are things that would be done AFTER the jar is opened, not prior to processing. So one has to ask, if you don't even like it then why are you making it? ;)

Just can the 3 types of beans plain and then make the salad the way you want it at serving time.

Dave

Dave, that's just me, I'm a tweaker! It's a tough job but someone has to discover the next great taste sensation! Maybe someday LPink's 3 Bean Salad will rival Annie's salsa in notariety!

Maybe someday LPink's 3 Bean Salad will rival Annie's salsa in notariety!

Ahhh but Annie had hers tested and adjusted for safety. Will you? ;)

Dave

Ms. Annie is not the only one who knows the location and staff of her local cooperative extension office! Maybe I should just call them and ask them about tweaking this recipe.

I was looking up the three bean salad recipes again and now I'm confused about the lima beans. Shelled or not shelled... what's the weight? The website recipe reads "1 lb lima beans, shelled" So is that one pound of shelled beans or one pound of beans, shelled? The directions only read "COMBINE green and yellow beans, lima beans, celery, onions and red pepper in a large stainless steel saucepan." Nothing about shelling or not shelling the beans. I have shelled fresh limas and the green and wax beans, I thought all I needed to do was weigh them. Now I'm confused and confusion is not conducive to canning!

If I were reading the recipe, I'd weigh the beans "IN shell", then shell them.

It calls for one pound of lima beans, then after the comma, "shelled". This tells you to remove them from the shell.

Then you combine whatever amount of beans you have with the other ingredients.

Anyone read it differently?

Deanna

I honestly don't think it will make much difference which way you weigh them. First because the shells themselves don't weigh much at all. Second because the shells don't go in the mix, and third, because you have no way of knowing how many beans you'll get out of them once shelled - average is 3 beans but many will be unusable.

The 3 bean salad recipe is commonly made with frozen or fresh limas instead that are already shelled and sorted so 1 lb. - either way - is not going to be that many more or less beans. JMO

Dave

I'd like to try a batch of this with Splenda. Yes? No?