Mango and Summer Vegetable Salad

Since I've arrived in Berlin, I've had exactly zero hours to cook. Sure, I made a quick egg and tomato sandwich this morning and a feta salad last night, but it's nothing worth the blog. (It would be a little insulting to your intelligence to write an egg sandwich recipe here, no?) So I'll be filling in with a few recipes from home and some Berlin food recipes until I have more time (when?) to cook. 

Traveling on a tight budget and eating in restaurants for a few days on end can put ya in the mood for veggies, and I have certainly been in the mood for veggies. Yesterday I made my second or third trip to the Berlin grocery store to purchase 3 bell peppers (just over 1 Euro for all three!), scallions, tomatoes, beets (essential I tell you), etc. I've been craving and craving and craving more vegetables to make up for their lacking in my diet. I had salads for lunch and dinner yesterday. Vegetable soup for dinner tonight. The aforementioned cucumber, tomato, egg sandwich for lunch today. So tonight I bring you a salad a made about a month ago back in a Texas kitchen. Enjoy with these ingredients or put your own spin on it. 

Mango and Summer Vegetable Salad

makes a side salad for 3 or 4

Ingredients 

1 diced mango

2 ears of corn, kernels cut off cob

2 ripe tomatoes, diced

2 yellow squashes, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

as much fresh spinach as you want (I used a large handful)

1 can black beans, drained and thoroughly rinsed or 1 cup dried black beans, cooked, then rinsed and cooled, optional

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

drizzle olive oil or sunflower oil

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Combine the all veggies and beans except the spinach in a salad bowl. Add more veggies if you prefer. In a small bowl, whip together the mustard, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper. Pour over the veggies, and allow the salad to sit for about 5 minutes. I almost always let vinaigrettes sit on my salads for a few minutes so that the vegetables absorbs the tangy flavor. Then toss in the spinach and any additional ingredients you might like. (Blueberries, anyone? Sliced grapes? Crumbled bleu cheese or an avocado?) Pull out your summer lemonade, grill up some portobellos, chicken breasts, or bratwurst, depending on your diet, and enjoy summer!