Tomato, Black Bean, and Corn Salad

Fall is in the air.  It is my favorite season.  I like the crisp weather and the colorful leaves.  I even think the barren leaves at the end of the season are beautiful.  Fall starts getting me excited for my two favorite holidays, Christmas and Thanksgiving.

I'm not crazy about winter, but I can survive it.  I have a electric heating pad I put on my bed and warm winter books.

This weekend I'm going to get into the season a little more by going to a pumpkin farm with some friends.  I probably will not buy a pumpkin, but I may buy pumpkin butter and some apples.  If they have some pumpkin baked good, I'll probably buy that too.

I'm getting so into the season that I am planning a Halloween costume.  I haven't dressed up for a few years.  It seems weird as an adult to have a costume, but I do it every once in a while.

I made this salad a few weeks ago and ate it with beef barbacoa.  It was an excellent accompaniment.  

Like many of the dishes I make, I found this black bean and corn salad recipe on allrecipes.com.  I added more tomatoes and green onions than directed.  I also used lemon juice instead of lime juice.

The ingredients are 1/3 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, 2 15-ounce cans black beans, 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, 1 avocado, 1 red bell pepper, 4 tomatoes, and 8 green onions.

I added the rinsed and drained black beans into a large bowl.

I added the corn, chopped avocado, diced tomatoes, and sliced green onions.

In a jar, I combined the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and cayenne pepper.  I mixed these ingredients together well.

 I poured the dressing over the salad and stirred everything together.

 This was a fresh and bright tasting salad.  The colors we vibrant and beautiful.

It had a little tang and kick.  The beans and avocado were mellow and smooth.

 The tomatoes were a little acidic.  The red pepper was crisp.

It was a hearty and filling salad.

Overall, it was flavorful, scrumptious, and appetizing.  I ate it with pleasure.