Black bean and corn salad, OM NOM NOM

[rikibeth]

As many of you have probably noticed, it's too hot to cook.

I could deal with this by living on cheese. However, the doctor said my cholesterol was too high, so I need to find other alternatives. For all that I mostly eat vegetarian, it's NOT low-fat or high in vegetables, because of my fussy eaters.

I decided that it was perfectly okay to make something that only I was going to eat. It's a salad I used to make all the time when I worked at Michaele's.

1 can black beans
Roughly the same amount of frozen corn kernels, thawed by putting them in the colander along with the beans when I rinsed the can goop off of them
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
Plenty of cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper
Dressing: olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime juice, pinch of sugar, Tabasco sauce (no, I didn't measure, I just kind of kept whisking and pouring until it tasted about right)

I let it marinate in the fridge for an hour. It'll probably be even better tomorrow.

For the record: adding a bag of Numi Dry Desert Lime tea to the two bags of Red Rose for my pint glass of iced tea is maybe just a LITTLE too tart to drink unsweetened. Try with sugar next time.

Beans have soluble fiber. That lowers cholesterol, right?

Anyway, it's tasty, and it didn't involve HEAT.

Comments

[oddmonster.livejournal.com]

Yup yup yup. I'd forgotten all about this salad, despite the fact that I used to make it all the time. Thanks for the reminder!

And now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to mainlining raita. I may be some time...

Also! Tea is for lovahs.

[shadowflyer.livejournal.com]

Three tea bags in a pint? Seems profligate; that sounds like a quart of tea.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

Have to brew it strong to pour over ice, it gets diluted. Normally it's just two Red Rose, which is a) cheap and b) just right.

[delerium69.livejournal.com]

I wish my body allowed me to enjoy cilantro. Alas, it just tastes like soap to my mouth.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

It tastes like soap to the kid and the housemate, too. If I thought they'd eat the salad OTHERWISE, I'd put in flat parsley and leave the cilantro for just my portion, but they probably wouldn't, so I made it to MY taste.

[head-shrinker.livejournal.com]

Mmm, I might have to make that! Minus the cilantro, since it tastes like soap and other unidentified cleaning products to me. Mint might be good - that's what I sub for cilantro for any salsa I make.

[weegoddess.livejournal.com]

you had me at everything but the peppers and sugar. ;-)

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

The sugar is optional -- I find it helps balance the acidity in the dressing. If you find the dressing too acid without it, you could try rice vinegar instead.

Maybe sub halved grape tomatoes for the peppers? Or are you entirely nightshade-free?

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

I'd just sub flat-leaf parsley, myself. Mint sounds odd, but if you like it, enjoy!

[weegoddess.livejournal.com]

Nightshade-free; you got it on the first guess. ;-)

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

I used to work at Wild Oats, I know a fair amount about a lot of the common dietary exclusions.

I suppose you could leave out that vegetable entirely; you wouldn't have the pretty color contrast, but it'd still be tasty.

[weegoddess.livejournal.com]

::snort::

Screw the pretty color contrast. Would you say to a diabetic, 'I suppose you could leave out the candy but then Halloween wouldn't be as much fun?'.

My point is that leaving nightshades out is a necessity, not a preference. I have no desire to eat things that will make me hurt, even if they might look pretty.

(sorry if I'm sounding a bit defensive, I've had more than one person act like avoiding nightshades is a choice, not a necessity)

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

Eep! Sorry if I came across that way! I was more frustrated with myself for not being able to think of an awesome substitution than with you for being unable to eat nightshades. I mentally ran through Things That Are Red and Things That Are Crunchy But Not Too Crunchy (carrots, IMHO, would be too firm) and came up blank, and sort of shrugged and went "well, it'd be tasty without them."

And I've seen nightshade-intolerance run the gamut from "I will be in bad shape if I eat these" to "I have never noticed any ill effects but I'm following a diet that tells me to avoid them," with no idea what your situation was.

Recipes are for tweaking!

[weegoddess.livejournal.com]

::hug:: I know you didn't mean to come across that way and I appreciate the apology. You'd be surprised how many people say considerate and brilliant things like 'I'll give up peppers when they pry them from my cold, dead, arthritic hands' and 'oh, I'd just DIE if I had to give up tomatoes!'. These are word for word quotes said directly to me. I can only imagine what other people have had to deal with.

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

NIGHTSHADE-FREE, I love that.