Quick and Easy

A quick and easy post and a quick and easy recipe for a busy month. I am happier than I can tell you that May is just around the corner!

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Sometimes I am nicer than I want to be.

Recent case in point was a party thrown by a friend. We spoke on the phone the day before the party and, while chatting, I asked if there was anything I could bring. I didn’t expect her to say yes, she’s an incredibly organized individual and a delightful and inventive hostess. And, if truth be told, I didn’t have time to bring anything—bought or made. Yet I offered. It is the nice thing to do, and I find it calms those last minute party-hosting jitters. I didn’t think she’d take me up on it.

She said yes, and requested I bring some sort of vegetable.

It was late Friday afternoon. I had been working hard all week (did I mention I’m working on four books this month—clearly I need to learn how to say no). My mother was expected shortly for dinner; I had a friend coming over at 9:30 the next morning for brunch; and I was going straight from brunch to the party. I had no time to cook anything extra, and no energy to go to the store to buy anything.

I could have said no (except we’ve already established I have a problem doing that). But I didn’t. I had a plan, and a quick and easy party salad that is a proven crowd pleaser. Why not be nice when it's this easy?

FIESTA CORN SALAD

This salad originates in the deli section at Andronico’s Market, Berkeley's 70-year-old, family run, gourmet grocery market. One day, while visiting a friend who was a student at UC Berkeley, I bought a container of this salad—I believe they call it Mexican Corn Salad—and thought it was delicious. I was living in Washington at the time, finishing up college, and I started making it myself, trying to replicate what I had tasted. It became part of my repertoire, especially in the summer as it is a good picnic contribution (stands up well without refrigeration). Recently I was back in Andronico’s and excited to try their corn salad again. But when I tasted it I was disappointed. Perhaps the quality of their salad has declined over the intervening twelve years, but these days my version is better.

You could make this salad with fresh corn and dried bean that had been cooked, but here is the quick and easy version. You can barely call this cooking, but it can save you in a pinch.

For the salad:
2 15-oz cans corn (not the cream-style corn)
1 15-oz can kidney beans
1 15-oz can black beans
1/2 15-oz can black olives, roughly chopped (nothing gourmet here, these are the kind of olives you stuck on your fingers when you were a kid and ate off one by one).
2-3 medium tomatoes, cut into a medium dice
2-3 tbs chopped fresh cilantro

For the dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbs red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground cumin

As much of the success of this salad hangs on the quality of the corn, make sure the brand you use is crunchy and sweet.

Open cans of corn and beans and drain contents (rinse the beans with water). Mix together in a large bowl. Chop the tomatoes and add to the salad. Chop the cilantro and add. In a smaller bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients until blended and pour over salad. Toss and serve.

This looks like a pretty basic salad, but it is one I cannot stop eating. I find something about it addictive (the corn-cumin combination, perhaps?). A good recipe for summer picnics, it makes me want to go to the beach.