As I was typing the headline for this post, I realized, “Damn, I’ve been eating a lot of black beans and tomatoes….” Sorry for the redundancy, but I’ve finally eaten my weight in summer tomatoes. (YAY!) I will surely miss them and think of them fondly when it’s December and I’m eating my fair share of roasted root vegetables and trying to not eat those gross, mealy, tasteless out-of-season tomatoes offered at my local grocery store.

ANYway…

This salad made a perfect meal and will pack up nicely when I take it to work for my lunches this week. It’s pretty adaptable. If you have limes and cilantro on hand, then by all means add some juice, zest and herbs. Yellow or red peppers or even jalapenos would add a nice crunch too. I used Pedon brand quick cooking (10 min) quinoa/bulghur, but if you have one or the other, that works just fine too.

• 1 can of black beans, rinsed, drained
• 1 package of quinoa & bulghur mix, cooked, drained
• 2-3 tomatoes, diced
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 2TB extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 TB white balsamic vinegar

Cook the grains according to package directions. Set aside to cool a bit. Mix the black beans, tomato, avocado, oil and vinegar and add some salt and pepper. Let that sit for a few minutes so the salt brings out the water from the tomatoes. Add the quinoa to the vegetables and toss. I also added crushed red pepper flakes and a dash of chili powder in lieu of jalapenos. Enjoy!