Boston Black Bean Soup

INGREDIENTS:

1 cn Navy beans; (15 Ounce)
1 cn Red beans; (15 Ounce)
1 cn Black beans; (15 Ounce)
2 Celery stalks; sliced (1
-cup)
1/2 c Thinly sliced green onions
1/2 c Vinegar
1/4 c Molasses
1/4 c Salad oil
1 tb Dijon-style mustard
1/4 ts Pepper
Lettuce leaves
2 c Torn curly endive
2 Bacon slices; crisp-cooked,
-drained and crumbled
Green onion strips;
-(optional)

This picnic salad has a molasses vinaigrette dressing. Remember this salad for your next potluck. In a large bowl combine rinsed and drained beans, celery, and green onions. For dressing, in a screw-top jar combine vinegar, molasses, oil, mustard, and pepper. Cover and shake well to mix. Pour dressing over bean mixture; stir to coat. Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours, stirring occasionally. To serve, line a salad bowl or platter with lettuce leaves. Stir curly endive and bacon into bean mixture. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bean mixture to the salad bowl. If desired, garnish with green onion strips. Makes 10 to 12 side-dish servings. jmerrill@prodigy.com. Lynn Thomas' notes: Made this on 11-4-97 to go along with a bowl of soup. I added about 1 teaspoon salt to the bean mixture, put the greens into a salad bowl and spooned the beans on top of the salad. Delicious salad--would be good for a potluck, as suggested.