I use this recipe a lot, but almost never for three-bean salad! I like its “sauce” for other vegetables, like cucumbers or beets: less oil, and the sugar fixes the water so the vegetables stay crisp (which is why it is used for the beans, I suppose). So, let me present it in two parts: sauce and chunks.

• Prepare ahead of time and let mixture marinate in the refrigerator overnight. The sauce stays liquid and doesn't cling much (only thinly) so making “too much sauce” doesn't really happen.
• The “easy-to-remember proportions” makes enough for a cucumber or two. I generally season with a good dusting of dill (“aneth”), and a little chopped shallot if I have some on hand.
• Same amount of sauce for 500g (a little over a pound) of cooked red beets, sliced, julienned, or diced.

There's also a more Mediterranean recipe that uses a yoghurt sauce but I use it less to avoid the salt.