Greg wrote:

> For a nice cold summer salad I'll often have iceberg lettuce with
> tomatoes, onions, etc. and add chilled canned beans, peas, and corn...the
> slightly mooshy textures of the canned stuff contrast nicely with the
> crisper ingredients...in fact it's substantial enough to be a whole meal.

Amazing, Greg and I agree on something! My summer salads almost always
include some kind of beans: Lima beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, green
beans, or kidney beans are the most favored. I also frequently put peas
into potato salad or pasta salad.

The _Chopstix_ cookbook has the following recipe for "Crunchy Baja Salad"
which I like to augment with a can of kidney beans:

Crunchy Baja Salad

SALAD
3 ears sweet corn, husked
1 avocado
5 ounces jicama
2 vine-ripened tomatoes
1 sweet red pepper
4 cups bite-sized pieces mixed salad greens
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups blue corn tortilla strips

DRESSING
2 tablespoons finely minced ginger
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 bunch chives
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha
1/2 teaspoon grated or finely minced orange peel
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

ADVANCE PREPARATION AND SERVING

1. Stand the ears of corn on their ends and cut off the kernels. Seed,
peel, and thinly slice the avocado. Peel the jicama and cut into thin
bite-sized rectangles. Seed the tomatoes, then cut just the outside
sections into 1/2-inch chunks. Seed and stem the pepper, then cut into
1/2-inch cubes. Toss salad greens with the olive oil. Set aside the
tortilla strips.

2. Mince the ginger in a food processor. Add the cilantro and chives and
mince again. Add the remaining dressing ingredients, then process for 20
seconds.

3. Arrange the greens on salad plates (2 as a main course, 4 as a salad
course). Sprinkle the tortilla strips over the greens. In a bowl, place the
corn, avocado, jicama, tomatoes, and peppers; add the dressing and toss.
Spoon onto center of the greens and serve at once.

BOB'S NOTES:

ALEPH) As I mentioned, I like to add a can of kidney beans to this; it goes
into
the bowl with the avocado/corn mixture.

BETH) I only add half the dressing to the mixture in the bowl; I serve the
rest
of the side.


Bob