Black beans, avocado, corn, and bell pepper salsa

Black beans, corn, and avocado salsa (Photo by bodhilens)

This is a nutritious, easy-to-make, super-tasty salsa for main dish. 

Ingredients (for 4 servings as main dish):

3 cups of cooked black beans (about 2 cans)

1 cup of cooked corn kernels (about 1/2 can)

1 ripe avocado

1 red bell pepper and/or green bell pepper

1 can of diced tomato (with Mexican seasonings or add a pinch of cayenne pepper) 

Juice of 1 lime or lemon

A handful of cilantro (or 1 TBSP of cilantro paste*)

1-2 stems of green onion

1/4 cup of olive oil

1-2 cloves of garlic

1/4 tsp of natural salt

For garnishing:

Whole milk yogurt (or sour cream)

Shredded cheese

BBQ sauce

Directions:

1. Chop avocado, bell pepper, cilantro, and green onion into small pieces. 

2. Cut lime into half and squeeze juice. Grate garlic. Mix them with the rest of seasonings. 

3. Mix 1 and 2 with black beans and corn kernels, and let the mixture rest in fridge for a while.

4. Garnish salsa with yogurt, shredded cheese, and/or BBQ sauce. Serve with tortilla or rice. 

*To make cilantro paste, get a bunch of cilantro, wash and dry it, put it in blender along with 1 clove of garlic, 1 TBSP of olive oil, and a pinch of natural salt, and run the blender until the mixture becomes paste. Spread cilantro paste thin in a ziploc. Store it in freezer. Break it into pieces and use a piece or two as you need. 

Tofu, tomato, and broccoli salad with sweet and sour garlic soy sauce dressing (garnished with sweet corn kernels and nasturtium leaves and flowers)

This is one of my favorite salads as a main dish. Tofu can be substituted by avocado or cooked meat (e.g., thinly sliced beef or shredded chicken breast). Today I pan-fried firm tofu dusted with "katakuriko"/potato starch, but it was not as good as fresh soft tofu. Meaty and sweet kinds of tomatoes, like cherokee purple, work best for this salad. (Photo by bodhilens)

Ingredients (for 3-4 servings):

1 pack of tofu (14 oz)
2 crowns of broccoli
2 large ripe tomatoes

For dressing:

2 TBSP of soy sauce
2 TBSP of sesame oil
1 TBSP of rice vinegar
2 cloves of garlic (grated)
1/2 smidgen (i.e., a tip of a flat toothpick amount) of stevia powder* (or any other sweetener)

For garnishing (optional):
1 cup of cooked sweet corn kernels
A few fresh nasturtium leaves and flowers

Directions:

1. Mix the ingredients for dressing and let it sit for a while (so that garlic blends in and gets milder).
2. Chop broccoli into chunks and cook them as you like (e.g., microwaving, boiling, or steaming for a few minutes).
(3. Cook sweet corn kernels as you like [e.g., microwaving or sauteing with a bit of butter].)
4. Cut tofu into small square pieces.
5. Slice tomatoes.
6. Place 2, 4, & 5 on a plate and drizzle the dressing over.
(7. Garnish with 3 and a few fresh nasturtium leaves and flowers if you like.)

*I have tried a few different brands of stevia powder and found Simply Stevia by Stevia Co., Inc. the sweetest and the most economical. I often replace 1 TBSP of sugar called for in any recipe with 1 smidgen of this stevia powder.