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light 'n easy  summery salad eats by Yee-Fan Sun | 1 2 3

There's something about summer that just changes my appetite completely. Gone are the hankerings for the stick-to-your-bones comfort foods I love so much in winter; those rich, heavy foods that take all day to cook suddenly seem so, so wrong once the days get long and the temps start soaring. What I want this time of year are light, fresh, simple eats -- meals that make the most of the crisp textures and sweet flavors of summer vegetables and fruits, dishes that can be thrown together without much effort, so I can get back to lazing about in the warm summer sun.

Filling summer salads are just the ticket, requiring little to zero cooking (no sweating over the stove!). Check out these recipes for three of my favorites -- perfect as a casual weekday meal, or as a festive side to feed a crowd…

spicy black bean salad Black beans are far and away my favorite beans in the world, with their yummy sweetish flavor and pretty purply-black hue. This colorful bean salad makes a great no-cook main for a busy summer weekday; just add some grated Monterey Jack and shredded lettuce, sliced avocados if you're feeling fancy, and wrap it all up in fresh tortillas (if you're craving a protein fix, try tossing in some cooked shrimp as well). Served plain, it also makes a mighty nice side dish, an excellent choice for potlucks, picnics and cookouts.

ingredients 
2 14-oz. cans of canned black beans (or about 3 cups cooked beans)
1 14-oz can of corn (or 1½ cups cooked fresh corn)
1 red bell pepper
½ medium red onion
2 big stalks of scallions
1 Tbsp. finely minced cilantro (you can add more if you're if big cilantro fan)
1-2 jalapenos
1 lime, zest and juice
1 Tbsp. olive oil
½ tsp. brown sugar
½ tsp salt, plus more as needed
fresh ground pepper to taste

time 15 minutes
serves 4 as a main wrapped in tortillas and with fixings, or 8+ as a side

1 Drain the beans and the corn and dump into a big mixing bowl.
2 De-stem, de-seed and trim away the spongy white ribs of the pepper. Chop the pepper into fairly small bits (about the size of the corn and beans). Mince up the red onion, scallions and cilantro. Slide it all into the bowl with the beans and corn.
3 Chop off the stem end of the jalapenos and halve; trim away the seeds and ribs (it's best to do this with rubber gloves, so the chile oil doesn't get all over your fingers). Finely mince up the jalapenos. Add half the jalapenos for now.
4 Grate the lime to get the zest; add zest to the bowl. Now juice the fruit and add that as well. Stir in olive oil, brown sugar, plus salt. Add a few good grinds of fresh pepper. Taste. If it needs more heat, add the remaining jalapeno; more flavor in general, sprinkle in more salt. You can eat it right away if you like, but it tastes even better after it's had at least an hour to sit (refrigerate if you're not going to be eating within an hour). 

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