This Is The Way The World Ends - Chicken, Corn and Black Bean Salad with Creamy Chipotle Lime Dressing

This world, Planet Earth, is hurting. We the People, or at least some of us, have made an absolute mess of things. Social and political structure is crashing down around us. "Financial stability" is an oxymoron.  Pervasive hatred is the new normal.

And the war rolls on. Ordinary people go to a club, or ride a bus, or walk down familiar streets and then they die, by violence. We are getting a taste of what it feels like to live in Israel, and it feels terrible.

I am reminded, rather unpleasantly, of the Fall of the Roman Empire. There is not a shred of my usual flippancy in that statement; I am as serious as a heart attack. Our upcoming election will solve nothing because our choices are unbearable, and the branches of government have completely lost the ability to cooperate with each other.  Our closest ally is having a huge public breakdown. Only one person wants to run for Prime Minister of Great Britain, and under the circumstances she can take a leisurely stroll to 10 Downing Street and sit right down at David Cameron's old desk.

The entire world is in an uproar. We are living in terrible, dangerous times.

After the recent daily terrorist attacks and the shocking violence between the African-American community and law enforcement, I have come to the deeply disturbing conclusion that Dr. Martin Luther King lived and died in vain. Think about that for a while.

We are all on edge, feeling the stress. In my case, all the fear and negativity impact my old friend fibro and I feel bad, really bad. So sick it is hard to leave the house. Actually hard to leave my room. None of my medications are helping me, and I am frustrated to the point of tears. And that's all I'm going to say about that.

Even knitting has become a painful, exhausting exercise

(While I'm typing this, my iPad is telling me that there was a shooting at a Michigan courthouse and that at least 4 people have been killed.)

During one of my successful forays in the kitchen, I found a use for some leftovers that were tugging on my conscience. I hate to waste food. This dish was very easy to throw together, leaving me plenty of time to trudge upstairs and pass out yet again. I call it Chicken, Corn and Black Bean Salad.  Catchy, eh?
  
Chicken, Corn and Black Bean Salad

1 - 14.75 oz. can black beans, rinsed, drained
1 - 2 oz. jar diced pimentos, drained
2 ears corn, cooked, kernels removed
1 generous cup chopped cooked chicken
1 large scallion (green onion), thinly sliced. Use entire scallion.
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper

Combine all of the ingredients and serve with Creamy Chipotle Lime Dressing. You can mix about  half the dressing with the salad ahead of time, or have each person add as much or as little as they want. Next time I would like to serve this on a bed of lettuce topped with corn chips, and surrounded with tomatoes and avocado slices. But that's the fancy, this is the plain and it is pretty darn delicious.

Creamy Chipotle Lime Dressing

3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup key lime juice (Nellie and Joe's)
1/4 cup chipotle sauce (or more, to taste)
2 garlic cloves, crushed through a garlic press
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
Dash of granulated garlic

Whisk together all of the ingredients, then l place in the refrigerator for an hour before using.