This tropical fusion salad is just what you need to put an end to cooking monotony.

My version of this recipe is based on the April/May Taste of Home magazine.  After being sick and out of the kitchen for so long, I needed some inspiration.  Something new and tasty and fabulous.  I wandered around for awhile and just when I thought I was getting my swagger back, our kitchen was overtaken by ants.   Hoards of them.  Every. Where.  Even in my spice cabinet!  All of my spices have been on the dining room table for weeks while we tried to get rid of these varmints.  We finally resorted to calling a professional after using way more chemicals than I would like to admit.  I also slammed my finger in the car door,  so that definitely took some time to get over.  But that is a different story for a different time, my friends.
In the midst of all this, I found this Taste of Home magazine, and it didn’t require that I use too many spices and I could use the  tiny portion of my counter space that wasn’t an ant playground.  There is nothing worse than trying to chop cilantro and a feisty little ant trying to get in your space.  It makes me shudder just to think about it.  I am kind of a germ nazi, and the thought of a stray ant in my food makes me gag a little.

So I saw this salad on the cover on Taste of Home, and I gave it a whirl.  Well, in a Gabby Gourmand-style kinda way.

Here’s their recipe (which I give a 10 out of 10 for flavor and ease of preparation):

• 2 cups cubed peeled papaya
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 2 serrano peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tsp ground ancho chili pepper, divided
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 corn tortillas (6 in) cut into 1/4 inch strips

Now here’s where my substitutions come in:

• Instead of papaya, I used mango.  I couldn’t find any papaya at our grocery store.
• The corn does not have to be thawed.  It will thaw out in the salad as you are chopping/prepping other stuff.
• Instead of serrano peppers, I used jalapenos and I roasted them first (deseeded of course).  It takes a little of the spice out, and adds that great roasty jalapeno pepper flavor.
• Instead of the ancho chili powder, I used chipotle chili powder that I found for 99 cents at World Market.  I could not find ancho anywhere.  Chipotle powder is spicy as all heck, so I mixed 1 tsp of it with regular chili powder.
• Instead of corn tortillas, I used flour tortillas because that is all we had in the pantry.
• To make this salad a meal, we added Morning Star “meat” crumbles.  I sauteed this easy protein in some EVOO with the leftover chipotle/regular chili powder mixture and the jalapeno peppers.  When the fake meat crumbles are all cooked up, you can dish them up and throw the cold salad on top.  Delish!
• One thing you should not subsitute is the raisins.  Definitely invest in the golden ones because you will be making this salad more than once.

Instructions:

1. Mix OJ, lime juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, sugar, and 1/4 tsp of chili powder mix in the bottom of a big glass bowl.
2. Throw in the beans, mango, corn, raisins, and cilantro.  You can add the avocado like the original recipe says, but it will get all guacamole on you with all the stirring.  Adding it at the end keeps it as pretty as the cover picture.
3. Cut tortilla strips coated with cooking spray and sprinkle 1 tsp of the chili powder mixture on them.  You can use more of your mixture if you prefer, especially if you aren’t cooking the crumbles.  Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until crisp.  Flour tortillas will burn real quick, y’all, so be careful.  We cooked up twice as much as the recipe called for because they are good to eat by themselves or on top of other stuff.  Yum!
4. Serve the salad with the spicy strips on top.

The OJ, lime juice, vinegar, and garlic would make a great dressing on other salads as well.

I found a great picture of the salad on another blog, and the author also includes ways to cut a papaya and an avocado.

Throw ‘em in the bowl:

• can corn, drained
• can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 orange bell pepper, finely chopped
• bunch of green onions (4-6?), finely chopped
• can mild Rotel tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 bottle of Wish Bone Robusto Italian
• 1/2 cup-3/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Stir and marinate for a few hours in the frig.  I kept going to visit the frig and take small bites of this stuff  “to see if it was ready.”  It does taste amazing after marinating for a good long while, but it tastes dang good in the minutes after you make it, too.

It’s good with rice, on tortilla chips, by itself, with hummus, you name it.