The summers of my childhood were filled with good food: ice cream topped with just-picked strawberries; corn on the cob, bought from the farm stand up the road, dripping with butter; expertly grilled shish kabob with perfectly marinated beef alternating with wedges of onion, tomato and sweet pepper.

One dish, though, that was a staple of our summer dishes that I stubbornly refused to eat was my mother's summer bean salad.

“I do not like beans,” I insisted, even though every single person who ate this salad raved and begged for the recipe.

“I hate that salad,” I complained, even though my mother entered it into a regional cooking contest, won, and progressed to the state finals.

“I’m just going to stick to corn,” I announced, for years, until I finally, grudgingly scooped a spoonful of it onto my plate a few summers ago, just to make my mom happy.

I try to live a life without regret. I try to put events into context, realizing that less than optimal choices can sometimes lead to more enriching situations.

But when I finally tried my mother's summer salad, I had a sharp pang of regret — a flashback to every time I turned up my nose at this dish. What had I been thinking?

Mom was reluctant to let me share this recipe with you. First of all, she says it’s not 100 percent original — she was served something similar at an acquaintance's house 30 or more years ago, though she has made changes to that recipe over the years.

She is also worried that this will seem too dated, too 1970s. I reminded her, though, that she still makes this and still earns rave reviews. I even had to fight my brother for leftovers this week while we were all sharing a cottage up north.

Mom eventually acquiesced.

The recipe as originally written calls for frozen peas and baby Lima beans, and it’s really good. But if you want to substitute fresh for one or both of them, it can be even better, though fresh baby Lima beans can sometimes be difficult to track down. You can also substitute edamame in a pinch.

This recipe is vegetarian and gluten free, and can be made vegan by using an eggless mayonnaise substitute.

Mom's Summer Salad

1 1/2 cups peas, shelled fresh or frozen, cooked and drained
1 1/2 cups baby Lima beans, shelled fresh or frozen, cooked and drained
1/2 cup pitted green olives, sliced
1/4 cup pimento-stuffed olives
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons grated onion
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon capers, chopped if large
2 teaspoons liquid from bottle of capers
salt, to taste
1/4 cup roasted and salted peanuts

Combine all of the ingredients except for the peanuts, and chill for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator. Add the peanuts just before serving.

Jessica Webster leads the Food & Grocery section for AnnArbor.com, a part of the MLive Media Group. Reach her at JessicaWebster@annarbor.com. You also can follow her on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.