Edamame Walnut Salad and Baby Robins

If you have not tried edamamae, run, do not walk to you nearest grocer and get some, please. Amazing little beans that they are. They are supremely tastey and satisfying. Here's a few interesting points about soybeans.

"The first domestication of soybean has been traced to the eastern half of North China in the eleventh century B.C. or perhaps a bit earlier. Soybean has been one of the five main plant foods of China along with rice, soybeans, wheat, barley and millet...

Early Uses. Soybeans were grown for centuries in Asia mainly for their seeds. These were used in preparing a large variety of fresh, fer­mented and dried food products that were con­sidered indispensable to oriental diets. Soybeans were not used to any great extent for forage in Asia.

Early use of soybeans in the United States was for forage and to some extent, green manure. It was not until 1941 that the acreage of' soybeans grown for grain first exceeded that grown for forage and other purposes in the United States.

Present Uses. Soybeans are the United States' second largest crop in cash sales and the number one export crop. In 2003, the export value of soybeans was more than 9.7 billion dollars, or about one-sixth of all agricultural exports. Normally, more than half of the total value of the U.S. soybean crop comes from exports as whole soybeans, soybean meal, and soybean oil. About 40 percent of the world's soybean trade originates from the U.S.

China has become the largest single country customer for U.S. soybeans with purchases totaling nearly $3 billion. Mexico, the European Union, and Japan are the second, third, and fourth largest international markets, respectively. Major export markets for soybean meal are the Philippines and Canada. Mexico and Korea are large customers of U.S. soybean oil." Iowa State University.

Here is a little update on the chicks. If you hadn't heard the first part of this story, here it is. Yesterday my husband got a little concerned that they might be roasting in the grill as it was such a hot day. So we opened it up to check on the chicks, they were fine. They had their little mouths open waiting for some food, then they kind of melted into the pile you see below. Ughhhh, what did we do?
They're not dead just good little actors/actesses.

After we had closed the grill back up we heard their little peeps again. Whew (wiping brow). So today I am off to find some kind of shelter to put over the grill to protect it from the sun.

But while I am here telling you about the chicks I'll also give you the "recipe" for what I did here.

Walnut and Edamame Salad

1 small onion, minced
1 package or 2 cups shelled edamame
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
salt to taste
2 tablespoons walnut oil, divided
juice of a lemon
1 clove garlic, minced

Saute the onion in a tablespoon of oil until soft. Add garlic and remove from heat. Combine with edamame, remainder of walnut oil, salt, lemon juice and sprinkle walnuts over top.Serve at room temperature.