Mexican Harvest Salad

Simple, homey ingredients.  Almost too easy to make!  Just one taste, however, and you’ll be in heaven.  Trust me.  This salad together with the last of the organic summer tomatoes, sliced, and  basil, fennel and goat cheese on a separate platter, and you’ve a colorful, flavorful repast!

We look forward to seeing you Tuesdays when trucks deliver 100% organic produce to our weekly Farmers’ Market.  Why eat organic?  In a recent survey of existing literature comparing nutrient content of organic and conventional food crops (Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine), organic crops were found to contain significantly more vitamin C, iron, magnesium and phosphorus and significantly fewer nitrates than conventional crops.  Organic crops also were found to have lower amounts of some heavy metals. 

I’m convinced (even before the scientific proof is in) that organic foods have more antioxidants and more of all the stuff that makes us healthier and happier too!  How could they not, when they are grown in soil that is healthier and alive with life-promoting organisms?   No one disputes the fact that conventional produce is sprayed with pesticides and herbicides, which we know do affect our health and the health of our planet.

Makes 6 servings

3 cups organic carrots, grated	1 organic red pepper, diced
3 cups organic zucchini or any summer squash	½ cup organic lime juice
8-12 large cloves garlic, peeled and pressed	¼ cup avocado or olive oil
3 ripe organic avocados, diced	Black pepper to taste
1 can Eden black beans, rinsed and drained	Sea salt to taste

Rinse carrots and squash, but don’t peel.  (Why?  You’ve better things to do with your time and you want to eat all the vitamins that are just under the skin instead of dumping them in the compost pile!)  Grate carrots and squash with the coarse grating blade of your food processor.  Can you use other vegetables?  Of course.  You can make this with only carrots or only squash, or replace either with parsnips, turnips or cabbage. 

 Combine all ingredients, toss and let stand for about ½ hour.  Toss again and serve. 

My machine didn’t come with a coarse grating blade, which I special ordered.  I find I actually use the coarse grating/shredding blade more than any other because it makes terrific instant salads.