In Oct 2009, a group of women who were labor and delivery nurses at Overland Park Regional Medical Center made a cookbook, “Bon Appetit Baby,” for their friend Anita, who was fighting breast cancer. All the profit from this cookbook, a collection of their recipes, went to Anita’s treatment. 

Almost 15 years later, my family still enjoys many of these recipes. My mom’s dip, formally known as Kerry’s Black Bean Dip, is a summer staple. I eat it after getting home from the pool, at Chiefs game parties at my grandma’s house and at my kitchen table at 1:00 a.m. 

It’s cold and refreshing after sitting in the fridge overnight, and has just enough flavor from the cilantro and red onion to not overpower your tastebuds. I think it’s best eaten with Tostitos scoop chips. We always double the recipe for our family of six, and I usually pick around the tomatoes. Tomatoes are nasty. 

It was almost like a right of passage, when my mom asked me to make the dip for the first time at the beginning of this summer. She’s always so busy, and making the dip was just another thing I could take off her plate, so now it’s my job, along with cutting the watermelon. I was honored, even though the first time I made it, it wasn’t quite right. Technically, it wasn’t my fault because the cilantro just didn’t hold the same flavor it normally does, that’s on Hen House’s. But I was determined to make it right because this dip is like tradition for my family every summer. And I did. Then I ate almost all of it in, like, three days. 

1 can black beans, drained

1 can of mexicorn, drained

2 cloves garlic

¼ c. red onion

2 Tbsp. cilantro

1 c. grape tomatoes; quartered

1 c. Ken’s Ranch Salad Dressing