Southwestern Sides: Black Beans and Corn Salsa

Okay, here are some of the side dishes to the chipotle smoked chicken. I think the crunchy corn salsa is perfect with it.

Ingredients:
1 can of sweet corn
1/2 onion, diced
1 large tomato, diced
1-3 smoked jalapenos, to taste. More on that later
Juice of 1 lime
3 cloves of garlic, minced
pinch of salt
1 avocado, diced
A handful of chopped cilantro

Drain the corn and put it into a bowl, along with the tomato, lime juice, garlic, onion, avocado and salt.

The smoky jalapenos make the salsa awesome, and they're easy to do. When you have your chipotle chicken on the barbecue pit, drop a few whole jalapenos on the grate with them and let them cook. You want them to be soft and slightly browned. They should be done in 40 minutes to an hour. Let them cool before handling them.

Once the jalapenos are cool, cut off the stem ends, cut the peppers in half and scrape the seeds out of the middle. Dice the flesh finely. The amount of diced jalapenos to add depends on your personal taste and the fieryness of the jalapenos. The heat can vary wildly from pepper to pepper. I've had days where I've added three jalapenos with almost no tangible heat, and I've had days where I added only one and almost couldn't stand the spiciness. Even though I usually use only 1 1/2 to 2 jalapenos, I always put three on the grill, just in case. I'd hate to run short of jalapeno. Once you've added your jalapenos, mix everything well and add the cilantro.

Now for the beans. I go for non-canned beans whenever I have the time. It's the whole cheapskate thing. I can buy a bag of beans for 79 cents, the same cost as a single can of the same. However, the bag will give me 4-5 times the amount of beans. Even if I only need one cup of beans, I'll always make the entire bag. It takes the same time to make a whole bag of beans as it does to make a small serving. Cooked beans freeze very well, so I package the extra beans in meal-sized servings and toss them in the freezer. Then the next time I want beans, I only have to microwave them.

This is a very simple recipe, but I personally don't dress up beans very much when they're going to be a side to a Mexican or Mexican-inspired recipe. I think their natural taste is a great compliment to the food on its own.

Ingredients:
1 lb bag of dried black beans
1 onion, chopped
1 tblsp. garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Put the beans in a good-sized pot and wash them. Pick out any shriveled or odd-looking ones. Then, fill the pot with plenty of water. You want the water level at least an inch higher than the beans. Put the pot on the stove and bring it to a rolling boil. Once it comes to a boil, turn off the burner and put the lid on the pot. Let the beans sit for one hour.

After an hour, the beans should have swelled nicely. Drain the liquid off and add fresh water. You want the water level about an inch and a half above the level of the beans. Add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper, and cover the pot. Bring the water to a slow simmer then turn the heat to medium-low. Simmer the beans slowly for 1-2 hours. You don't need to stir overly often during the first hour or so of cooking. They'll be hard enough so they don't stick. If the beans start sticking up out of the liquid, add more water to cover. Check for tenderness every now and again.

This is the part that I can't give exact measurements for. You'll notice when the beans are nearly tender. At this point, it's time to leave the lid off the pot and let evaporation help out. The goal is to reduce the liquid enough that, by the time the beans are perfectly tender, there is only a small amount of liquid left in the pot. It sounds tricky, but it's really not. Just keep an eye on it. If the liquid is almost gone and the beans are still a bit tough, add more water. Be sure to stir more often in this stage, since the beans are more likely to stick once they're tender. Once the beans are tender, they're done and ready to go. If you couldn't evaporate out as much of the water as you wanted, it's certainly not a disaster. Just serve them with a slotted spoon. Problem solved.