Ingredients:
• 3 C (about 1 pound) chopped ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 C chopped onion
• 1 jalapeño or serrano chili finely chopped (optional) or 1/8 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 C chopped cilantro leaves
• 2 to 3 T lime juice
• 2 T olive oil optional
• 1 tsp salt
• 1-2 C cooked and rinsed beans of your choice (black, pinto, lentils)
• (Optional) Fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels, about ¾ C. About 1/2 C chopped cucumber.
Directions:
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Adjust seasonings to your taste. Let rest for a few minutes before serving. See photo from Unsplash by Megan Stone.
Note:
Use as you would salsa! OR, fins Ten Ways To Use Pico de Gallo. Some will surprise you! Click here for a recipe for home made Tortilla Chips which lets you control the fat and salt!
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Story:
The Season of Creation calls us to a peaceful relationship with creation and her creatures, a relationship of hope and new beginnings after destruction. Its 2025 symbol is a dove with an olive branch: the hopeful sign offered to Noah’s family after the flood. We can celebrate this Season with food, learning and action!
There are countless versions of Pico de Gallo salsa. This popular Hispanic favorite uses fresh ingredients rather than cooked; diced and chopped veggies rather than pureed. The recipe here is the most common and well-known version and includes an important plant protein in the form of the beans of your choice. It is also beautifully colorful, like creation.
P.S. Pico de Gallo also celebrates mid Sept – Mid October’s Hispanic Heritage Month’s which encourages us to foster unity, identity, and pride through our shared heritage. Another variation of this recipe used black-eyed peas and has been given the name “Cowboy” or “Texas” Caviar. It is nothing like caviar, but Texas and Mexico used to one and the same! Some who say it is just a Texas version of Pico de Gallo claim that is it is “cultural appropriation”. What do you think?
My Story of Befriending Beans:
Early in our relationship, my husband decided to return to a vegetarian diet. Having grown up in a butcher shop family, I slowly started to learn of the benefit of beans. We added lentils, pintos, black beans and my grandmother’s ceci (garbanzo) beans to appetizers, soups, main dishes and more. I ate less meat and was just as satisfied, although chicken and fish remain occasionally in my diet.
Canned beans are convenient and still budget friendly. The financial benefit of dry beans made them a good choice; I just followed the package directions. I learned to make them in big batches (even in the crock pot!) and freeze them. Beans’ dietary protein, B vitamins, fiber and complex carbs are benefits as well. Soon, I read about the amount of water required to yield a pound of legumes vs. a pound of red meat. The fertilizer, acreage and gasoline needed by each crop couldn’t compare and I discovered how this plant protein protected the earth. Most ethnic groups close to the earth thrived on legumes across the globe and their treasured dishes rely on beans of all kinds. It was a learning curve. The digestive concern about too many beans too infrequently did not pose an issue. VLK
Invitations:
Our food system impacts almost every aspect of society. From production, processing, and distribution to consumption and waste, our choices are affected by, and have an impact on, the whole system. Our current dominant food system contributes to environmental destruction, climate change, food-related diseases and a lack of food equity. Beans, other plant proteins and vitamin/fiber rich fruits and vegetables are good for humans and for Sustainable Food Systems.
• Consider making beans the main protein of a Meatless Monday (or any day) tradition in your household. Try foods once considered “peasant” foods like: refried beans, bean soup, hummus, chili, three-bean salad. Offer a side of tortillas, bread, brown rice, corn muffins, flavored quinoa (from a box!), or a salad to round off your plant-based bean protein.
• Learn more in a fascinating book Lentil Underground: Renegade Farmers and the Future of Food in America by Liz Carlisle. Carlisle explores the literal, below-the-ground workings of nitrogen fixation and legume crops, such as lentils grown by Dave Oien founding farmer and CEO of Timeless Seeds and his friends across Montana. Learn how they tirelessly navigated systems of governance, connecting with buyers, sellers, and consumers as they found a way to make lentil farming an alternative to replenish the soil, the economy and the cooperation of many farmers in the region.
• Contribute to sustainable food systems, many of which have been featured in The Seasoned Franciscan: Reduce food waste. Choose local and seasonal foods. Eat more plant-based meals. Support ethical and sustainable brands. Minimize plastic and packaging waste. Read more about Everyday Actions to Support a Sustainable Food System.
• Become an advocate. See Civil Eats a news site that reports on how our food system works, how it breaks down and how you can get involved.
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