Marinated Vegetable Salad

A blast from the past for late summer. First posted in 2008 by Jimmy, who wrote:

I think this was a recipe Mom started making when we were all older, but once she started using it she made it for all special occasions. Mom has a hand-written note on the recipe that "a glass bowl looks very pretty" with this salad.

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. dijon-style mustard
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. each of salt, pepper, oregano, minced garlic

Put all ingredients into a jar and shake well.

Salad:

2 cups each broccoli flowerettes, cauliflower flowerettes
1/2 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed
1/2 each of a red pepper and green pepper, cut into 1/4" strips
1 can (14 oz.) hearts of palm, drained and cut into slices
1 bag (10 oz.) fresh spinach

Heat 3 qts. water to boil. Drop broccoli and cauliflower into boiling water. Cook 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Remove with slotted spoon and put into ice-cold water. Add beans to boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes until crisp-tender. Remove with slotted spoon into ice-cold water. Drain vegetables well.

Put cooked vegetables into large mixing bowl. Add red and green peppers and hearts of palm. Pour dressing over vegetables and refrigerate at least 2 hours (covered).

Line large salad bowl with spinach leaves. Spoon vegetables over and serve.