This is actually Black Bean and Corn Salad from Still Life with Menu by Molly Katzen. I'll put the recipe first, and if you're interested, you can read the story of why I call it magic bean salad after the recipe...

Black beans, Corn, Chopped Red
                           Bell Pepper, Chopped Red Onion, 

Half-cooked Carrots, Fresh
                           Chopped Garlic, Fresh Cilantro, 

Cumin, Fresh
                           Lime Juice, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Jalepeno or Cayenne,

 or tobasco to taste, Sea
                           salt and pepper to taste
                           

Don't add anything else to the sauce, or, for some reason it goes bad faster (no kidding). My friends and I have tried balsamic vinegar and tamari, but for some reason, I swear, it doesn't last in the fridge half as long as if you stick just to lime juice and olive oil. I have added parsley (but you still need cilantro), and it's okay.

Serve with tortilla chips or bake your own in a warm oven using corn tortillas cut in quarters, brushed with a little olive oil.

Now, why I call it "Magic Bean Salad" is this ... the last year the Grateful Dead existed we travelled to St. Louis and stayed in a nice hotel within walking distance of the concerts. After the show one night, we walked back not wanting any of the crappy food for sale in the parking lot, hoping room service would still be open (but doubtful). We decided to have a drink before turning in (our baby was asleep in the sling, and we found a non-smokey area; I remember removing her earplugs there.) Anyway, somebody had a HUGE GIGANTIC bowl full of this salad with a bags of chips, disposable bowls and spoons just sitting there as you walked in.

Well, the hotel's restaurant was closed, we didn't feel like driving around to a restaurant that would almost surely be overwhelmed with hippies, and the beans looked really good, so we obliged, ordered our drinks, and sat down. BOY was the salad yummy! It really hit the spot! We had 2 or 3 bowls each (and there was still plenty more for all the hippies overflowing in the hotel). As we were leaving we asked who had brought the food, and asked her how much. She just smiled and said something like "oh, just knowing everyone is well fed is payment enough for me." My hub tried to buy her a drink, but she wouldn't hear of it.

Then, at the very last show my m-i-l came with us, and I kept raving abt how good the bean salad was, and how I wish I could get the recipe. Well, the last show was at Soldier Field in Chicago, which holds 80,000 people, plus, by the end of the Dead there were always too many extra bums trying to make a buck off the scene, so I'd say there were 100.000 people in and around the venue, and I wondered how, even if that lady were at the show, how would I recognize her, and how would I find her?

Lo and behold, after the show as we were heading out of the stadium, THERE SHE WAS! I said: there's the bean lady! We were walking in opposite directions, and I asked her, "excuse me, did you serve that wonderful black bean salad at the Harley Hotel in St. Louis?"

Imagine our surprise when she said "why, yes, that was I." (even good grammar ... wow!)

I asked her if she could tell us the recipe, and she said that it was from the book Still Life with Menu by Molly Katzen. As luck would have it, my m-i-l said "oh! I have that book!" Great!

So for a few years after that I would serve that bean salad (sometimes with hot quesadillas instead of chips) for free at festivals where I knew there'd be hungry hippies looking for some kind food. I never asked for money, although I did often get showered with gifts and even some cash now and then. Usually I was just happy to see people well fed. So if you ever saw a sign for Morning Glories Kitchen and stopped to eat there, that was I!