Black Eyed Pea Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth.  Yes, I have been crazy busy!  We've been swamped with swimming lessons and soccer practice, not to mention a 10 day trip to my dad's ranch in Wyoming over the 4th of July.  This trip was the first time I traveled for any extended amount of time with my two kids by myself.  My husband had to work, so I loaded up the van (thank God for mini-van's with DVD players!  How did our parents do it?!?) and hit the road.  We had a really nice visit.  The first few days I got to spend with my dad, which was a real treat.  We rarely get one-on-one time together; our family is so darned big!  My step-mom showed up a couple of days later after a volunteering trip she'd been on, and my younger sister rolled in the next day with her little boy.  He wasn't too sure about me on this visit. He finally decided I wasn't the boogie man about 10 minutes before we headed back home. 

We had a little BBQ get together with some of the extended family and I whipped up this quick bean salad which I adapted from this recipe from the Liv Life blog.  It was so light and fresh.  A perfect accompaniment to ribs :)

source

Dressing:
¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1½ Tbs Olive Oil
7 leaves fresh cilantro, thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic, pressed
zest of one lemon, finely grated
1 tsp mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Salad:1 can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
½ cup chopped tomato
1 avocado, diced
2 green onions, finely chopped

In a small bowl mix the dressing ingredients together, whisk until well blended.

In a large bowl mix together the salad ingredients. Add the dressing and toss lightly to coat evenly. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve!