Variety in every bite

One of the benefits to cooking -- and I think especially to cooking new recipes -- is a lack of homogeneity within each dish.

I have become a fan of green beans and black quinoa salad.  Well, I use regular quinoa rather than black, but the basic plan is the same.  By using fresh green beans and preparing the dressing myself, I am assured that each bite will be slightly different.  Some beans are crunchier, others are sweeter.  Some bites are more garlicky while in others the balsamic vinegar is more prominent.  Not every bite includes green onion.  It is a lovely little adventure to keep eating in order to see what the next bite may bring.

Plus, it is a lovely starting point.  Since my first experience with the recipe, I have prepared it with zucchini instead of green beans, and I am pretty sure that there is an asparagus variation in my near future as asparagus was on sale at the grocery store (and early spring is asparagus season).

Cooking classes tell you that you want to cut up ingredients into equally-sized pieces so that everything cooks evenly.  That reasoning is all well and good, and perhaps with practice I will eventually achieve uniformly cut potatoes or carrots or celery or whatever, but until that day I plan to enjoy my inconsistent, varied results.