Black bean, corn and tomato salad

I first made it for a summer outing to a friend’s house some years back. When I asked what I could bring he said “a salad”. Nothing like a narrow set of parameters. My goal was something that didn’t contain mayo since I knew it would need to sit out for some time.

Black Bean, Corn and Tomato Salad

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
8-10 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 16 oz pkg. frozen corn, defrosted
2 15 oz cans Goya black beans, drained and rinsed
16 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup of chopped basil

Directions:

Mix together the first 3 ingredients in a large bowl.
Whisk in the olive oil and black pepper until well combined.
Add the corn, black beans, tomatoes and basil; stir well so that the dressing coats everything.

Notes:

This recipe is based on one from Joy of Cooking. They add 2 cups of chopped onion – I tend to leave it out because I think it is too heavy handed. They also call for fresh corn kernels – too much work in my opinion.

This salad is particularly good if you make it the night before and allow the flavors to mingle. If you do this leave the tomatoes & basil out until you are ready to serve. Bring the salad back to room temp before serving.

Saturday night – 06/23/2007

Breakfast for dinner this week.

Menu
Waffles ala Alton Brown
blueberry sauce & maple syrup
lots of bacon
chicken and apple sausage links
veggie sausage patties

Ted created a very tasty apple-fennel pie for dessert. The husband knows how to make a tasty pie crust.

minor details under here for me to remember

Saturday night – 06/02/2007

Ten for dinner this week and ted_badger did most of the actual cooking since I expected to be at work all day long. It was rather warm and I wished I had found the time to drag the a/c out of the garage at some point. Of course the next day it was 60 degrees out.

Menu
“Swedish” meatballs
Egg noodles with just a touch of olive oil
Sauteed carrots and onions
Steamed broccoli with cheese sauce
Tomato-basil bread (from Panera Bread)
Zucchini bread for dessert

Commentary under the cut

Ted’s Birthday Bash 2007

Good party last Saturday to celebrate Ted’s 25th birthday. A little over 60% of the RSVP’d guests actually made it which is pretty good. The weather was hot which made it nicer to sit on the deck than in the house. It’s almost time to move the a/c out of the garage and into the windows.

Menu
Deviled Eggs
Turnip Tots
Mini crab cakes (based on with Remoulade Sauce
Curry roasted chickpeas

Hamburgers & Hot Dogs
Veggie Burgers (Cooks’ Illustrated recipe)

Black Bean & Corn Salad (Joy of Cooking)
Tabbouleh (mind of Ted)
Meated Chili (mind of Bob)
Vegetarian Chili (mind of Ted)

“Pricey” brownies
Brown Sugar Cookies (Cooks’ Illustrated recipe)
Various purchased Italian cookies from Panzano Market

Special thanks to Tom for his help in setting up and dkeali_i for clean-up assistance the next morning.