Black Bean Salad

Tuesday was absolutely perfect here in DC: blue skies, sunny, breezy and not humid at all. John Paul and I decided that we needed to take advantage of such gorgeous weather, and packed up our lunch to picnic at a park near our apartment. Mia even came along for the ride! We spread our blanket out under a tree, ate our wonderful meal, and then laid back to ponder what shapes the clouds looked like. All in all, a great way to spend an afternoon.
It just so happened that we had this delicious salad in the fridge, which is the world's most perfect picnic fare. Not only is this a colorful, vegetable-heavy dish, but it's also incredibly versatile; we brought along some tortillas to wrap the beans in, but it would also be great tossed with spinach for some more veggie filler, or as a dip for chips. The dressing is also really, really delicious and light, the perfect mix of sweet and slightly tart. The best part? You don't have to cook anything! This is great to make when it's just too hot to stand in front of the stove.

Kaleidoscope Black Bean Salad (vinaigrette recipe found here)
2 cans black beans, rinsed
4 bell peppers, roughly diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and ribs removed, roughly chopped
1 bag frozen corn, thawed (you can also use two steamed cobs with the kernels cut off)
1 lime, halved
1/4 c. olive oil
1 tsp. cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Throw beans, peppers and corn in a medium bowl.
2. Squeeze the juice of the lime into a jar, then add oil and spices. Put top onto jar and shake vigorously until ingredients are combined.
3. Pour vinaigrette on top of salad and toss. This will stay good in the fridge for three or four days.