Life is full of regrets. If only I’d resurrected Madonna’s broken toe shoes from the dumpster behind Waterman Gym circa 1976 (I could have sold them on eBbay for a fortune today.) If only I’d gone to Chef School at the Culinary Institute when I’d had the chance. If only I’d replaced that last can of black beans I used last week.
Tonight’s dinnerFeed could really use some black
beans. In general, however, most everyday recipes are incredibly flexible. So many ingredients can be interchanged with what you have on hand. For example,
jicama or pumpkin seeds would be wonderful in this salad, but not essential to the success. So would another dash of citrus, such as freshly squeezed orange juice. Red onion may be exchanged for green onions, shallot or garlic in a
recipe such is this. Or totally omitted.
I kept the vinaigrette intentionally light for a warm
September evening. So what this recipe really needs, but won’t have, are black
beans. Not only would the beans add eye appeal, they would add a rich, flavorful
meatiness to the salad. And the nutritional value of the salad would
exponentially jump. Alas, it won’t happen. I’ve no time to go to the store, and
certainly no time to soak dried black beans.
I did include them in the recipe – perhaps your cupboard is more complete than mine. By the way, I never discard my shrimp shells. I freeze them for use
in future seafood stocks. It’s worth the effort. Shrimp shells contribute to
excellent homemade stock and I’ll have no regrets come chowder time.
