Vegan Chronicles – Mexican Salad



Mexican Salad
also shows the Anaheim Pepper used as a substitution.

Grandma Spicy always gravitates towards Mexican food or anything in that vibe. I thoroughly enjoy many of the spices used in that flavor profile; of course every good Mexican cook uses cilantro. Cumin or cumin seeds are used in many recipes. Oregano, chili powder and thyme are also used in this cooking.

When I came across this recipe I liked it for the use of the black beans, garbanzo beans, corn and red pepper. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mexican-salad/detail.aspx However, when I made this recipe, wow, what a flavor explosion! Fresh cilantro is the key to the essence of this recipe; I had to cheat and use bottled lime juice instead of fresh. When living in the country you have to use what you have and improvise. Another change that I chose is the use of half of an Anaheim pepper instead of the Jalapeño. The Chile "heat" of Anaheim’s typically ranges from 500 to 2,500 on the Scoville Scale. The Jalapeño peppers rate higher at 2,500 to 8,000 Scoville heat units which are much hotter. Grandma Spicy does not like raw Jalapeño so I go with the Anaheim in many cases. These substitutions may have affected the flavor profile some; but did not stop my consumption of the salad. It was hmm, hmm good!