Hodgepodge Salad

I honestly have no clue how this salad came to be.  I am pretty sure, though, that you could call it something that is a clean-out-the-fridge sort of dish.  It sort of ended up as something to use up all the odds and ends that were lying around, bugging me.  The original thing that got this salad started is called Salad Nicoise from Allrecipes.

And, obviously I got a bit carried away with throwing in everything that came to mind.  But the end results were really good- although M liked it a bit more than me.  I think the one thing that did not belong was the eggs, but other than that, it's a great salad at any temperature, very filling for you, and very emptying for the fridge.

Hodgepodge Salad

Adapted from Salad Nicoise and French Cafe Summer Salad

Serves 6

• 1/2 pound new potatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 10 green olives, sliced
• 2 cups cabbage, shredded
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon capers
• ½ cup dried pink beans, cooked
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 pound fresh green beans - rinsed, trimmed and blanched
• 4 cups baby spinach, stems removed
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp raspberry vinegar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp miso paste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes, and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and cool.
In a large bowl mix the basil through the spinach. Add the potatoes.
In a separate bowl mix the remaining ingredients and add to the big mixture. Serve, or chill until ready to serve.