Black Blean Salad with Avocado-Lime Dressing

Serves 4

This colorful salad features a quick dressing made from creamy avocado, tangy lime juice and zesty cilantro.

Ingredients

1 ripe avocado, mashed
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or thawed if frozen
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Method

In a large bowl, whisk together avocado, cilantro and lime juice until blended. Add beans, lettuce, tomatoes, corn, pepper, pumpkin seeds and toss until evenly coated.

Mango, Avocado, and Black Bean Salad with Lime Dressing

Ingredients:

2 ripe but firm avocados, halved, peeled and cubed
3 Tbsp lime juice, divided
2 ripe but firm mangoes, peeled and cubed
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp grated lime zest
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp sugar
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive ooil
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:

Gently toss avocado with 1 Tbsp of the lime juice in a medium bowl.  Add mango and jalapeno and gently toss to combine.  Set aside.

Whisk together remaining 2 Tbsp lime juice, zest, cilantro, salt, pepper, and sugar in a large bowl.  whisk in oil until thoroughly combined to make a thick dressing.  Add avocado mixture and black beans and toss gently.  Spoon salad onto plates, garnish with cilantro and serve immediately.

Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Gelato Siciliano

from Saveur

serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 3 cups milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (I sift the cocoa to remove any lumps)

Instructions:

Bring 2 cups of milk to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat; remove from heat. Meanwhile, combine 1 cup milk with sugar, cornstarch and cocoa in a bowl and stir into hot milk. Cook until sugar and cocoa dissolve. Allow to cool, then cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight.  Process mixture in an ice cream maker.  You don't need to churn it as long as you do ice cream - you want it to just be a custard sort of consistency, not completely frozen.Store in the freezer in a container with plastic wrap pressed right on top. It's best the day you make it.  If it freezes hard, just remove it 10 minutes before you plan of serving it.