Southwestern Black Bean & Corn Salad

This is for Day 3 of 30 Days of Creativity and the theme is corn, so I chose to make a corn salad.  The recipe is based on this recipe at "Shannon Makes Stuff"; however I adapted it to use the full cans of corn, bean and tomatoes.

Recipe:

• 1 14-15 oz can whole kernel corn (drained)
• 1 14-15 oz can  black beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 14-15 oz can diced tomato
• 2 tablespoon jalapeno pepper, finely diced
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 4 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
• 4 tablespoons vinegar (original calls for white vinegar, I used balsamic vinegar)
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all items together and allow to set in the fridge to marinate for at least two hours.  Can be served as a side salad or as a salsa with chips.  It starts out with a clean fresh taste tomato and corn taste then there is a mild kick due to the jalapenos and chili powder.

Easy Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad

A crisp, sweet salad that only takes about 10 minutes to prepare and very low in calories if artificial sweetner is used.

Thankfully we have had unseasonably warm weather where I live which left me yearning for summer, so I made I made what is traditionally more of a summer salad to brighten up lunch.

This is based on a recipe at Recipezaar:
http://www.recipezaar.com/Easy-Cucumber-Tomato-and-Onion-Salad-82461

• 1 1/2 cups chopped cucumbers
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 6 packets artifical sweetener (or 3 TBSP Sugar)
• 1/2 cup vinegar 
• 1/2 cup water 
• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed  

How you chop the cucumber and onion is a matter of preference; I usually cut lengthwise half, then each half in half horizontally.
 



Chop up cucumber












Chop up onion

Open up can of diced tomatoes, drain off excess liquid (I used Fiesta Mexican, which made it have a more hot and spicy flavor, but if you have never made anything like this before, you would probably want to just try plain diced tomatoes.

Combine cucumber, onion and tomatoes in large bowl

 In a separate bowl, add 6 packets of artificial sweetener (or you can use 3 TBSP of sugar)

 Add 1/2 cup water

Add 1/2 cup of vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)

 Add 1 tsp. of Dill

Mix water, vinegar and Dill together to make the dressing

 Pour the dressing over the cucumber mixture and toss until well coated, then refrigerate at least 2 hours (best if left to sit overnight).

Serve with at slotted spoon to drain excess liquid.

TOMATO & ONION SALSA

This recipe was inspirted by this post by at CO+K by Chelesa M. http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/best_salsa_ever This was super-easy with using the food processor to chop everything up. I varied my receipe slightly and used the following and it is more of an tomato and onion salsa than just tomato based and it was very mild. 1 can Rotel Tomatoes with Jalepenos 1 can Tomato Sauce 1 fresh tomato 3 cloves garlic 1 1/2 med. sized yellow onions 2 Tsp. Mexican Seasoning 1 TBSP lime juice 4 dashes Seasoned salt 1 handful of Cilantro

Thai Cucumber Relish - Ah Jaht

I found this recipe over at One Perfect Bite and like all of the ingredients (although I am the only one that I ever serve food to that does). The author of the recipe advised that they make this as a salad and serve it with Thai Coconut Curry. It is crisp and cool with a hot kick. http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.com/2009/04/thai-cucumber-relish-ah-jaht.html Thai Cucumber Relish - Ah Jaht Ingredients: 1/2 cup white or rice wine vinegar 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 large hothouse cucumbers or 1 pound garden cucumbers 3 tablespoons thinly sliced shallots or coarsely chopped red onion (I used a yellow onion) 2 teaspoons thinly sliced small red or green chilies (I substituted Red Pepper flakes)

Yield: 3 cups. Combine vinegar, water,sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar and salt dissolve. Set aside. Cool.

The recipe advised to cut cucumbers into 4 long strips then each strip crosswise into bite size triangles - I just cut it into small cubes. I then chopped the onion into small bits and measured out the red pepper flakes then poured into a container and mixed everything together.

Add cooled dressing.

Can be served at room or chilled. I served mine chilled.

"Folk Magic" Onion Cough Syrup (or would also make a great Halloween prop!)

I ran across this while surfing and as I had read in magazines before of onions having an antibacterial property, thought I would try making some of this: http://iwonderwoman.blogspot.com/2007/11/folk-magic.html All you need is: 1 large onion (garlic or ginger could be used instead) 1 cup of sugar 1 glass jar with a lid 1 knife (to cup up onions) 1 measuring cup - to measure the sugar Peel the onion and chop it into slices: Alternate layering the onion and the sugar in the jar Continue layering until all of the onion and sugar are in the jar. Cover with a lid and leave on the counter for 1 to 2 days then store the syrup in the refrigerator. I wasn't sure if the onions were to be strained out of not and left a message on Myrnie's blog and she was kind enough to leave me a comment on mine. "I hope the onion syrup worked well for you- if you don't like the taste, garlic or ginger also work well (I've heard.)Yes, strain the onions out before you put this in the refrigerator." This is what it looked like at Day 2 before I strained out the onions. It looks like some sort of exotic ingredient an alchemist of a witch would use and it does smell bad when you open it. This would be a great prop for a Halloween party. It does smell bad but it doesn't taste that bad due to the sugar and it did seem to help with (I used 2 TBSP) with congestion. I decided to do a little bit of research and found this interesting article: Courtesy of www.kingtutshop.com http://www.kingtutshop.com/Egyptian-Herb/onion.htm The article indicates that the onions were used in Egyptian culture for eating and medicinal purposes, that it was prescribed by Hippocrates and even indicated in the Bible a food that longed for by the Israelites after leaving Egypt for the Promised Land and even asked Moses to pray for to God for them in the Quran. Here is a direct quote for the medicinal purposes of onions from the article: "Onion is used as a diuretic, expectorant and antiseptic. Onions are highly recommended for people trying to prevent cardiovascular disease, cancer, and infections. They appear to be at least somewhat effective against colds, heart disease, diabetes, and other diseases and contain antiinflammatory, anticholesterol, and anticancer components. Onions contain many active compounds that appear to inhibit the growth of cancerous cells, help combat heart disease, inhibit strokes, lower blood pressure & cholesterol, and stimulate the immune system. Alliums are also antibacterial and anti-fungal, so they can relieve stomach upset & other gastrointestinal disorders. As with Garlic, Onions help prevent thrombosis and reduce hypertension, according to the American Heart Association. The natural constituents of yellow or white Onions can raise HDL cholesterol over time."