My son Aidan is a self confessed carnivore!  If the boy (he’s taller than me so who am I kidding!) could eat meat 3 x a day than the only thing he would miss would be chocolate!

That said, as his mother, I am “duty bound” to help him eat more vegetables…ha HA!  Yes, find ways to get them in his heart or better yet…his stomach!  I know that he really likes most Mexican food dishes so I decided to make a black bean salad to go with his first grilling adventure; hot and spicy bratwurst.

He likes crunchy foods so added jicama, a tuber from Mexico originally. It has a light sweet taste, high in vitamin c and low in calories.  Combine that with the black beans, sweet corn, green onions, grape tomatoes, and cilantro.  A lime juice dressing with garlic and cumin round out the flavors.  Nothing boring about this one!  No cooking required so the kitchen stays cool!

You’ll need:

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 1/2 Tbs fresh lime juice

2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced

1 tsp ground cumin

3 Tbs olive oil

1 cup sweet corn, fresh or canned

4 green onions, thinly sliced, green tops included

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 cup peeled, diced jicama (about 1/2-1 inch size)

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup salsa verde (I like San Antonio Farms roasted salsa verde)

salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Tabasco sauce (I like Buffalo style for this one) optional

In a medium bowl combine lime juice, pressed garlic, and ground cumin.  Whisk in olive oil.  Add rinsed and drained black beans, stir and set aside.  Peel and slice jicama (Note: try to buy one about the size of a large orange).  Outer skin may be tough and need a paring knife.  Cut jicama into cubes about 1/2-1 inch in size.  Half the tomatoes and chop up the cilantro.  Cut corn from cob or use a good quality “fresh pack” canned sweet corn.  Add remaining ingredients to black beans.  Stir, add salsa verde and taste to check seasonings.  Add salt and pepper to taste and Tabasco, if desired.  Let flavors blend for about 30 minutes.  Serve with your favorite grilled item.