For the Pasta Salad:

• 1 pound short pasta (I use bowtie/farfalle, but rotini or penne work great too)
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (the multi-colored ones make it prettier!)
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (15 oz)
• 1 cup corn kernels (fresh off the cob is amazing, but frozen and thawed works too)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 red onion, finely diced (soak in ice water for 10 minutes if you want to tame the bite)
• 1 jalapeño, seeds removed and minced (leave some seeds if you like heat!)
• 1 avocado, diced (add this right before serving)
• 1 cup cotija or feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 big handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (about 1 cup loosely packed)

For the Lime Dressing:

• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice (from about 3–4 juicy limes)
• Zest from 2 limes (trust me, don’t skip this!)
• 1/2 cup good olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Optional: 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper for extra kick