Black Bean, Corn and Tomato Salad

My recipe this week, Black Bean Salad, is an ode to the end of summer.

WIth the bounty of market vegetables, it's hard to pick favorites as the seasons overlap. Beans, corn, tomatoes, eggplant and stone fruits are being replaced by apples, pears, hearty greens and winter squash. Grab your fading summer favorites while you can. 

I skipped a week of posting recipes because my friend from Arizona was here, and I went to Portland and Victoria, British Columbia.

The hounds weren't in agreement about our so-called vacation. They stayed home.

They didn't make it easy to leave.

My friend spent a week on the Oregon coast and I drove to Portland to meet her.  The drive isn't so long if I listen to a book and I listened to this great mystery on the way down.  

We drove to the Columbia River Gorge not expecting the huge traffic jam, but apparently everyone in Portland had the same idea of seeing the waterfalls before summer ends.

When we finally saw the view, it was amazing.

The next day we visited the Hillsdale Farmers' Market before heading back to Seattle.

Wood-fired bagels and the best ever longanberry preserves.

What good is a wood-fired bagel without Ayers Creek loganberry jam?

I barely got all the berries in the freezer before we were off to British Columbia.

We drove to Port Angeles and caught the ferry to Victoria.  So many choices for which route to take--clipper ship, Anacortes ferry, BC ferry and by air.  Since I haven't been that many times I chose the Port Angeles route, which I seriously underestimated the time it took to get from Kingston to Port Angeles, but we made it.  

The ferry coming into Victoria early in the morning.

A trip to Victoria usually involves a trip to Buschart Gardens. 

The gardens were lovely but the best part for me was the street art.  Check out this art find along the marina walkway.  Check out the link and read the story behind this art.

All this sightseeing made me hungry.  So when we got back, we feasted on artichokes, green beans, tomatoes and corn.

Here is an easy, end-of-summer whole meal salad that doesn't require any cooking at all.

Black bean, Corn and Tomato Salad 

(Serves 4 to 6)

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

3 ears of corn, corn removed from husks

1/2 cup small dice red pepper

1/2 cup small dice sweet onion

Juice of 1 lime

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 jalapeno, chopped

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

4 cups Romaine lettuce

1/2 avocado, diced

Broken tortilla chips (optional)

1. Place beans, corn, red pepper and onion in a mixing bowl.  Stir to blend and set aside.  In a small bowl combine lime juice, apple cider vinegar, sugar, olive oil, cumin, chili powder, garlic and jalapeno in a bowl.  Whisk to blend and stir into the bean and corn salad.  

2. Gently blend in tomatoes.  Layer beans and corn over Romaine lettuce.  Top with avocado and tortilla chips, if desired.

A perfect end to a long busy Northwest weekend.

This salad is fit to be a meal with or without tortilla chips.  I like to serve them on the side.

I know a hound or two who are really happy dinner is served on time.