My eldest son loves black beans. Whenever I make tacos they must have black beans, though refried pintos will suffice in a pinch. I buy mostly canned beans as I find my timing is such that bean cooking is not in my schedule. I will try when things get back to more of a routine once school begins, but in the meantime I use organic canned beans. I never thought I’d be making bread routinely before I found this recipe, so things can actually change.
Well, summer is the season for salads and a favorite is this black bean and corn one that my husband taught me to make. I use avocados if they’re in stock (at home) but it does fine without.
Black Bean, Corn and Avocado Salad
one can of black beans
2-3 cobs of corn cooked (you can use fresh uncooked corn, but I prefer cooked)
one large tomato or several smaller ones (I used a small handful of orange cherry tomatoes and a half of a small red tomato) chopped
one avocado chopped
1/4-1/2 of one Serrano, Habanero or Jalapeño pepper minced (Habanero gives nice kick and sweetness but it is very hot and you should be careful with the kids)
handful of fresh cilantro chopped
1/2 green onion (scallion) chopped
1/4 red onion diced
one lime
sea salt and ground pepper to taste
Dressing:
1/2 tsp cumin
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
about 1/2 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove
Mix together the beans, corn off the cob, tomatoes, green onion and red onion then squeeze half the lime over it. Add the hot pepper in small amounts and taste to your heat preference. The pepper should be very tiny pieces so that it doesn’t overpower the other flavors by its heat. I sometimes divide my salads and salsas into two bowls when adding hot pepper so that the kids get less and adults get more pepper. Add avocado last since it’s delicate. Put in fridge while you prepare dressing or make dressing first. 
FYI: The proper ratio of oil to vinegar in dressing is 3 to 1. I used a mini food processor but you can use a blender or immersion blender. Put in peeled garlic clove, cumin (toast it if you have a moment), juice of other half of lime and vinegar. Chop, blend, etc. then add olive oil through top hole while on (slowly if using another machine) until its got a thick consistency and its taste maintains the sharpness of the vinegar. Use as much as needed to give a nice coating to salad. You can always keep the rest for another salad. Serve chilled or room temperature. 
This salad can be used as a dip with chips, served with grilled chicken (a favorite for backyard parties), grilled shrimp or on its own. I also discovered a new way just yesterday at lunch. 
Served on top of a quesadilla with shredded lettuce and salsa. Yum! The boys were eating cheese quesadillas with Cabot’s Seriously Sharp cheddar cheese and I made one for myself with Cabot’s Hot Habanero cheddar for an extra kick. My eldest tried it (spicy quesadilla) with the bean salad on top and liked it. Love finding new foods to make that they like.
I’d never tried the 3 flavors they sent me, so that day used the Champagne Caper Vinaigrette on a mixed greens and Romaine salad with orange bell peppers, celery, cucumbers, mint and parsley. The dressing was nice, a little sweet but complemented the choice of vegetables well. The boys ate the salad without any complaints.
I also made a fruit salad (no dressing on this). Sliced bananas and squeezed lemon juice on them —they don’t turn brown and also gives them a nice tartness. Sliced and hulled strawberries. Picked the grapes off the bunch but left them whole (I only use organic grapes because the sulfur dioxide they usually spray on grapes makes me weeze. All my berries are also organic if not local). Tossed them all gently with the raspberries. I don’t find it necessary to add sugar because I find the sweetness of the grapes and bananas goes nicely with the tartness of the berries. My children usually devour fruit salad. We had also packed a separate container of cut up watermelon chunks. 
And for non-salad items this week we roasted chicken drumsticks. In a large bowl, coat the drumsticks with olive oil, salt, pepper and Penzy’s Mural of Flavor (mixture of garlic powder, thyme, oregano and basil would do). Roast in oven for 45-65 minutes at 350F (you can start it at 425-450 for 10 minutes for crispier skin). After 45 minutes check temperature with instant-read thermometer, should be 160 to remove from oven. Will continue to cook while it rests. You can make this to eat immediately, but is delicious cold too. The kids love eating drumsticks because they’re allowed to pick them up and eat them without forks. 
