Bean, corn and pepper salad

Everyone has a sign for spring. It could be the fluffy pink cherry blossoms,  white virginal magnolias, yellow happy dandelions dancing in vacant lots that are filled with grass and vacant no more. Or maybe it’s the strawberries, which are small, gossamer and sweet unlike the large, dry and sour ones in winter. It could be the asparagus. It is to Mr. Pastrami who loves them either thick, stout and white or thin, green and delicately long. To Ms.Butterfish it’s the mint crushed and muddled in cocktails and the entrance of mild nuances of citrus. For some it is artichokes. I still remember the large phallic looking artichokes bathed in olive oil and baked, in Rome, three springs ago. 

And as pain and pleasure are two sides of a coin, the pain of two springs ago cuts open my heart to let the bright red blood gush forth. Somehow today I know it is this blood that give the cherry blossoms, strawberries, asparagus and artichokes real meaning.

Starting from spring to late summer I make my corn, bean and pepper salad. Early on the peppers are less spicy and the corn is pale white and slightly dry. As the seasons progress, the peppers find their piquancy and the corn get plump, sweet and pollen dust yellow. When I found an early crop of corn at the Co-Op I knew it was that time of the year again. 

This salad is a cutting, dicing and chopping labor of love. I chopped 2-3 differently colored peppers, garlic, cilantro,cucumber and ripe cherry tomatoes.  The heat and mild smokiness is from roasted and ground cumin and black pepper. The citrus is from an uninhibited cup of lemon juice. A cup of olive oil balances the spice and citrus. Nothing compares to the sensual pleasure of crumbling a brick of salty feta cheese into the salad. I use a couple of cans of washed black beans to absorb the robustness of all the ingredients. The longer the salad sits in the refrigerator the more peaceful the marrying of different flavors. In the heat of passion we forget that time is love.

The riot of colors in the bowl sure tells me spring is here. So does the slow flowing river of sadness in my heart on seeing the cherry blossoms.

Bon Appetit.

3 red and green peppers each, 4 cobs of corn, 1 large cup of cherry tomatoes, 1 large cucumber

A bunch of cilantro and 10 cloves of garlic

2 cans of black beans cooked

7-10 ounce feta cheese, 1 cup olive oil, juice from 4 lemons

8 tsp cumin, and 4 tsp black pepper

Roast cumin and pepper

Grind cumin and black pepper

Dice green, red pepper and cucumber 

Add cherry tomatoes

Add black beans

Finely diced bunch of cilantro and garlic go in next

Cook the cobs of corn in boiling water

Remove corn from the cob

Add to salad

Then into the rainbow mix add 1 cup of lemon juice, 1 cup of olive oil, ground cumin and black pepper

Crumble the feta cheese over the salad

Add salt to taste and toss

The riot of colors, spring to late summer salad is ready.  Bon Apetite!