Summertime Black Bean Salad

Last Friday my sweet husband was making the trek home from his work week and in preparation for his return, I went about soaking organic black beans for his weekly “batch” of black beans. No sooner, had I poured the water over them to soak, John called and notified me that he would have to return to Albany this week, to finish up the install job he is working on. OMG - my first thought was, what am I going to do with all of these beans? For while he LOVES black beans, I am just okay with them. That said I was going to have a LOT of black beans on hand. Putting my thinking cap on, I decided to try my hand at a black bean salad. With so much lovely fresh corn and other goodies available at the local produce stand, I went there straight-away. The salad turned out “muy bueno”, great flavor and excellent “staying” power, in that we had it on a bed of greens both Saturday and Sunday and today, it was just the right filling for Johne’s road “wrap”. So without further ado - here is my latest creation. Note - most ingredients are "organic" as I prefer them when they are available and fit into our food budget.

Ingredients for salad

• 3 cups of organic black beans, cooked but still firm (drained of all moisture)
• 2 large ears of fresh corn / cooked & removed from the cob
• ¼ cup red bell pepper, chopped fine
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 medium shallot minced
• 2 slices of red onion, chopped fine
• ½ cup of Jicama cubed
• ¼ cup cilantro chopped coarse
• 1 avocado, can chop up or slice, as the topping/garnish for this salad

Ingredients for dressing

• ¼ cup fresh lime juice (approx. 2 limes juiced)
• ¼ cup virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Agave syrup
• cumin and chili powder (use according to your audience and tastebuds)
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

To make the salad

• Combine the beans, corn and other salad ingredients/ toss lightly together
• Mix the dressing
• Pour over the black bean mixture, being careful to NOT overdress
• Chill for several hours/ or overnight
• Serve on a bed of lettuce (fresh red leaf is what I used, using the whole leaf)
• Garnish w/ sliced avocado
• Serve at room temperature

Last but not least!! Bon Appetit!