Maybe it’s just me, but I prefer colder foods in the summer. And because I cannot live on coconut or raspberry sorbet every day…
This dish works as a side salad or possibly a salsa accompaniment to roasted mushroom soft tacos (oooh, I just gave myself an idea). I used fresh corn on the cob rather than frozen because I had leftover corn. (I just sliced it off the cob in large pieces. If you use frozen corn, sauté it first in a pan and let cool). It’s a quick and easy and made a nice lunch for my lazy Sunday afternoon. Hey, where’s my sangria?

• 1 can of black beans, rinsed, drained
• 1 ear of cooked corn on the cob, sliced off cob
• 1 medium/large tomato
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 avocado, cubed
• 1 small/medium zucchini, thinly sliced pieces
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 TB of olive oil
• 2TB of white balsamic vinegar, or to taste
• Salt, pepper, crushed red pepper to taste

Rinse and drain the black beans, add the diced tomatoes, pepper, corn, avocado, and zucchini. Add the juice of a lime (so the avocado doesn’t brown), olive oil and vinegar. You don’t have to add vinegar, but I did because it adds a different element of flavor and is a nice complement. Stir and then let the salad sit for 10 minutes, as the salt with draw out the water from the tomatoes and zucchini.