So I’m a couple of days late, but happy Independence Day! We usually do something fun with friends (as I hope everyone does), and it’s so great to see communities of people coming together to unabashedly have some good clean American fun. I saw our annual bike parade from the window, and marveled at the fire trucks and the man riding the unicycle.
We went to our cousins’ house to have dinner, play some games, and chat. While I did miss going to the symphony picnic with the Weichbrodts (as was done last year), I did love spending some quality time with Sarah E and the bunch! One of the things that made the evening more enjoyable was the salad my mom made. Rebecca suggested the recipe; it came from the Barefoot Contessa. It was awesome, and I thought I’d share the recipe with all of you!
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 yellow pepper, seeded and ½-inch diced
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup small-diced red onion
2 tablespoons minced jalapeno peppers, seeded (2 peppers)
½ teaspoon freshly grated lime zest
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice, (2 limes)
¼ cup good olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon minced garlic
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 ripe Hass avocados, seeded, peeled, and ½-inch diced
Place the tomatoes, yellow pepper, black beans, red onion, jalapeno peppers, and lime zest in a large bowl. Whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic, and cayenne pepper and pour over the vegetables. Toss well. Just before you’re ready to serve the salad, fold the avocados into the salad. Check the seasoning and serve at room temperature.
