fiesta salad

Last month our baby omnivore turned one. Since he was born on Cinco de Mayo we had a Mexican fiesta. We had everything from mariachi rubber duckies for the little ones to hand squeezed margaritas for the big people. It was a blast. And whther it was taking swings at the pinata or swigs of Negro Modelo, young and old alike had a good time. We even got everyone in a sombrero for some fantastic photo ops.

I also had lots of good food, of course. There was fresh guacamole, lime and cilantro chicken drummies, several kinds of quesadillas - from grilled flank steak to sauteed veggies, and Mexican chocolate cupcakes (dark chocolate with cinnamon) from our favorite local bakery. But one of the best menu items in my opinion, was this fiesta salad.

You will need the following:
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 bag of frozen corn, steamed
1/4 of a red onion diced
3-4 green onions, chopped
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
3-4 medium radishes, cleaned and sliced
the juice from one lime
several sprigs of fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Simply toss the ingredients in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let set over night. Stir again before serving and top with more cilantro. I have tons in my herb garden. I also got the green onions and radishes from my CSA bag that week. The are optional, but I think they add a bit of festive color to the salad.

The guests gobbled the salad up. And the baby and I enjoyed the leftovers, the little that remained. Party on!