I’ve always been the type of person who has no trouble eating winter-y food all throughout the summer.

How about you?

You know, like soup in the middle of July. A warm pot pie in August. I’ve always enjoyed warm winter comfort food the entire year.

Until now.

Until now, now that I live in an un-air-conditioned apartment.

I never understood why soup in the summer didn’t appeal to people. But I do now. I now understand why people don’t want to do that.

Enter, this salad. I thought — what can I make that involves absolutely no heat, but still tastes delicious?

Salad. Expect more. I’ll be with no air conditioning all summer long.

By the way, I thought making this salad was a great idea to keep cool. And then, I got hungry for stuffed shells. So I made them. So much for keeping cool.

If it is as hot where you are as it is in Philly, give this salad a try. It will refresh you. It combines the southwest flavors of corn, black beans, tomatoes and salsa with cool homemade (or store-bought) ranch, over a bed of crisp greens. Yes, a perfect summer meal.

Ingredients
A bowl full of mixed greens (I didn’t measure, but I used maybe 6 cups?)
1 can of black beans, rinsed
1 can of corn, rinsed
2 cups diced tomatoes
Juice from 1/2 of a lime
1/2 cup salsa
Homemade ranch dressing, as much as you please

Start by putting the black beans, corn and diced tomatoes into a bowl. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 of a lime over the veggies and stir.

In a different large bowl, add a few large handfuls of mixed greens (or your favorite type of lettuce). Top with a couple of large spoonfuls of the veggie mixture. Add another layer of lettuce and then more veggies. Spoon the salsa on top and then drizzle ranch dressing over the salad.

Using salad tongs or two spoons, toss the salad very well. This will coat all of the lettuce with the salsa and ranch, making a very nice dressing.

Serve with additional veggies, salsa and ranch, if desired.

Enjoy!