An easy beat-the-heat salad idea

I have NO tolerance for heat at all.  I start to wilt when it hits 80, and it's all downhill from there.  Which means no cooking, and that's not easy on a tight budget.  However, I came up with this easy salad that can be used to top lettuce, or you can add extra veggies and cheese to it for a full meal.  It is very cheap, and uses items you probably have in your cupboards.  I know that I consider balsamic vinegar a staple because it's so versatile, and you might want to think about keeping it around as well.  As far as I can tell, a bottle lasts forever.

Easy Bean Salad

1 can of red kidney beans (I prefer dark red, but it's a taste preference)
1 can of cut green beans (You could use french cut, or low sodium)
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar.

Drain the beans, and rinse the kidney beans.  Combine the two cans, add the balsamic vinegar, let it sit so the flavours can meld.  That's it!  

Of course, you can jazz it up if you wish.  You might want to consider:

Minced onions, or green onions
Bell peppers
Summer squash
Diced tomatoes
Fresh basil
Parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Hot peppers or hot sauce 
Cooked barley, small pasta al dente, or softened bulgur wheat

It's incredibly versatile, and with some sort of grain it is a complete protein.  

You might want to consider having fresh tomatoes and basil all summer long.  Last summer I had a 12-inch pot that contained one grape tomato plant and three basil plants.  It kept me in tomatoes and basil, and that was despite the neighbour kids helping themselves to my tomatoes.  I still have some basil in the freezer that I add to pasta sauces.  One decent-sized window box would produce enough tomatoes, basil, and lettuce for one person, and almost everyone has that much space.  

One last hot weather tip, if you have trouble drinking enough water, buy the generic brand of "light" lemonade tubs, which are usually less than $2 for six tubs in a plastic tube.  Put one tub in a gallon of cold water and shake well.  It gives the water a bit of flavour, just enough to encourage you to drink it, without too much fake sugar aftertaste.  The lemonade is the strongest flavour I've tried, and so it works best diluted.   If you have the individual drink mix packets, three of the Wal-Mart brand will make a gallon of water tasty.

Today's movie pick:  Twister on dvd.    It's a good, silly summer film.  We watched it at the Harvest Moon Drive-in in Gibson City the summer it came out, which made it even more fun.   The two-disc version has lots of extras, and I love dvd extra features.  Enjoy!

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