Black Bean and Avocado Salsa

This recipe is courtesy of my cousin, Christina Costain at Crafty's Cafe.  Of all the black bean salsa's I've tried, it's my favorite!  Try it with blue corn tortilla chips or salted, baked pita chips.  Yummy!


2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed (Christina recommends Bush beans, because they are indeed, black!)
2 ears of corn, boiled or roasted (or a comparable amount of frozen corn)
2 large tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 -3 firm-ripe avocados, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 red onion, finely minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 -3 limes, juiced 
1 bunch of cilantro (leaves only), chopped
olive oil and red wine vinegar to taste
salt and pepper to taste


Juice the limes first, then prepare the avocados.  Place the avocado pieces in a large bowl, and pour the lime juice over; toss well to prevent browning.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Drizzle with olive oil, and about 2 tablespoons vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper.  Refrigerate for about 15 minutes, adjust seasonings and serve.

Rancho Red Beans

This recipe is a variation of one my brother makes.  These beans are an excellent accompaniment to enchiladas, or may be served as an entree, over rice.  If serving them as an entree, I recommend adding a cup or more of cubed ham to the beans during the last hour  on the stove.  Adding the meat any earlier, tends to dry it out.

1 small bag of small southern red beans, or pinto beans (not red kidney beans)
1 large onion, cut into pieces
1 whole bay leaf
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon salt for cooking
2 large pieces of salt pork, or 2 smoked ham hocks
1 cup or more of cubed ham (optional - if serving as an entree)

Soak beans overnight in salted water.  Remove any irregular beans.  Place all ingredients in a large Dutch oven or soup-pot.  Cover all with water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer on stove top for about three hours, or until the beans are tender.  If adding ham cubes, do so during last hour of cooking time so the ham stays moist.  Check often to ensure the beans don't stick to bottom of pot (add more water if needed).

Before serving, remove pork hocks (salt pork) and bay leaves with a slotted spoon, and adjust seasoning to taste.  Serve with a small amount of cooking liquid, over rice, or as a side dish.

Ham and Bean Soup - Quick Method

I love homemade bean soup, but don't always have time to soak my beans overnight.  I use canned cannellini (white kidney beans) for a quick and easy alternative.  The cannellini beans won't degrade while cooking like some of the other canned bean varieties.    Since I don't always have a ham bone on hand, I keep small packages of smoked ham hocks in my freezer.  The ham hocks give my soup the smokey pork flavor I expect in a bean soup.  Dice up a ham steak, and throw that in with the beans, and veggies for a nice hearty cold-weather lunch or dinner.

32 oz chicken broth (stock)
15 oz can cannellini beans, drained
2 cups diced tomatoes, including juice
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced onion
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
1 ham bone or 2 ham hocks
1 - 2 cups diced ham

Combine all of the above ingredients in a large stock pot.  Add 1 teaspoon of salt.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 90 minutes, stirring every 20 to 30 minutes.  Remove ham bone or hocks.  Season to taste and serve with a nice slice of French or Italian bread.