Black Bean Salsa - Yummy Stuff

I was standing in my pantry Friday night trying to figure out what to fix for dinner. I haven't done my regular grocery shopping due to the kitchen project so the pickings were kinda slim. I found a can of black beans and noticed there was a recipe on the label for Black Bean Salsa. I had most all of the ingredients and I decided to give it a try.

I didn't have fresh tomatoes so I substituted canned diced tomatoes and they worked rather well.

Here is what you need:

• 15 oz canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 6 oz canned yellow corn, drained and rinsed (The recipe called for 12 oz, but that seemed like too much so I cut it in half and used the other 6 oz as a side dish.)
  
• 2 cans diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed (use fresh when in season)
  
• 1 small onion, Chopped fine (It called for red onions but any onion will work.)
  
• 1 tsp lime zest (This was not on the original recipe, but it seemed a shame to waste the zest.)
  
• 1/4 cup(s) fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste

Drain and rinse black beans, corn and tomatoes.
Place all in a bowl.
Add cumin and mix
Zest the lime and add to the bowl
Juice the lime and add to the bowl
Mix and allow to set so the flavors will blend.

I used this as my main dish just because it tasted so good, but it is actually a great salsa with chips or baked pita chips. We are invited to a get together this afternoon and I'm thinking I might just make this to take with us. Tortilla chips, a little sour cream on the side and this salsa. Sounds like a party to me. I'm hungry already.

Later
D

PS: If you are on Weight Watchers 1/2 cup = 2 points. But don't forget the chips and sour cream count separate.

The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner

I found this link to speeches by McCain and Obama at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner and wanted share them. With all the problems in the news and all the political sniping I thought it would be nice to share a bit of light-hearted fun from both candidates.

McCain Part 1


McCain Part 2


Obama Part 1


Obama Part 2

Kitchen Cabinets - Part 4

We are at the home stretch. John has done a wonderful job on the cabinets.



I had to laugh as I was looking at these pictures. We seem to have moved the coffee pot around all over the kitchen and it was the constant during this entire process.


I have also been pleased and amazed at how much brighter the kitchen is now.


I should have pictures of the finished product by this weekend.

It has been a long hard road with the majority of the job falling to my husband. I am so thankful that he is good with his hands and is able to do this type of this task.

Now the job will fall to me to determine where all the things that came out of the cabinets will go back. I have committed to clean out and remove items that we don't use. So wish me luck and I really hope to see an end to the project by this weekend.

Later
D

Wildflowers

While we were at the Armuchee Bluegrass Festival over the Labor Day Weekend, we stayed at a little hotel near by. There was an open field across the parking lot and I took Trixie there for her morning walk each day. While we wondered around and Trixie looked for just the right spot to do her business, I took pictures of the lovely wildflowers that were in bloom. Some of the flowers were obviously from flower beds but the seeds had been scooped up in the fill dirt that had been dumped at the site.

I love the way the sun relfects off the blooms.

More pictures soon.

Later

D

The Rose

When we moved into our house in the fall of 1998 there was a rose bush in the back yard. The summer had been very hard on it and I assumed it would die and we've have to dig it up. My husband however, didn't give up. He pruned, pampered and fed it. Then to my astonishment it revived.

He still spends time caring for this rose and it repaid him with beautiful blooms all summer. It is just as beautiful this year as the first summer when he worked so hard. With fall fast approaching I wanted share this picture from just a few weeks ago.

Later
D

Our Little Helper

A 10 month old dog is about like having a three year old child. They understand much of what you tell them, but they can't or don't always listen to you. With that in mind we have done our best during the Kitchen Project, to keep things out of reach of our Papillon Trixie. Even doing the best we can, she still finds things that could be dangerous. I found a bolt in her bed that she stole from something. We're still trying to identify where it goes.

Yesterday, John was priming the cabinet doors and left them on the patio to dry. Bringing them in for the evening, he found Trixie paid them a visit too.

One door had the undeniable evidence that her curiosity had gotten the better of her.


Since her art work is on the inside of the door, we're debating whether to paint over it...

What do you think?

Later
D