A salad to obsess over: Fresh corn salad

Given how long it's been since I posted a recipe, you must be thinking to yourself, this is a really special recipe. And you are right.

We have an amazing local chef in Walla Walla who makes a corn salad at his take-out joint (in a gas station, which is awesome), and I have enjoyed it a number of times. But me being me, I thought--actually for the first time, this summer--I should be able to make this at home, right?

And right I was. After a Google/Pinterest search or two, I found a great many recipes purporting to be "Mexican street corn salad," and narrowed my findings down by reading a few and deciding on one that seemed close to what I'd tasted in the past.

So I made it, and tweaked it, made it again, and kept tweaking. It has, over the course of many makings this summer, evolved to a place where it feels different enough from the original recipe(s) I spotted online, and also very, very good.

Fresh corn salad
6 ears of sweet corn, cut off the cob
1/2 medium sweet (I like the Walla Walla, of course!) onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
2 Anaheim peppers, diced

Saute the first three ingredients over high heat, until the corn starts to blacken and scorch a bit (not unlike grilling or roasting). Add the peppers and saute for a few minutes more, until they wilt a bit. Take off the stove to cool.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup cojita cheese, crumbled
Juice of three limes, squeezed
1 generous bunch of cilantro, chopped (at least 1/2 cup)
6 green onions, chopped
1 tsp chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl mix the mayonnaise, cheese, and lime juice, and stir until well blended. Add the cilantro, green onion and chili powder, and mix.

Once the corn mixture has cooled slightly, toss the dressing with the corn and stir well. Serve with extra cheese, and adapt at will. We have enjoyed this concoction in quesadillas and tacos, I've added tomatoes and avocados and really enjoyed it that way too. This is probably the most repeated recipe in our house this summer, which--knowing Seth's and my shared penchant for pesto--is saying something!

I highly recommend the fresh corn aspect of this salad. Many of the recipes I found called for frozen or canned, and I think that the fresh corn just makes it. I also tended to up the cilantro as I went along, and got no complaints from the guys! The one time they were less wild about it, I couldn't find cojita (not every town has the cheese selections of Walla Walla, let's just say, and on vacation I had to make do) and used parmesan. Just not the same. Go for the cojita.

I hope you make it and enjoy as much as we have this summer. I decided to blog the recipe so that Seth can access it from college this winter if he decides he can't do without a corn salad fix.

This recipe makes roughly eight cups. So divide that as best among your eaters. In our house it tends to go pretty quickly. :)

Sept. 17: Corn salads for end-of-summer goodness

Well, I'm officially mailing it in. While Jen and I were texting random nonsense yesterday, and accusing each other of creating challenging blog post topics (it's a blog challenge, doh!), I threw out the idea that maybe a recipe didn't have to be one that we'd actually MADE. Rather, it could be one that we are hoping to make at some point in the near future (who would know if that never happened, the blog police?).

At the time, I had every intention of coming home from our weekend away and making one of the recipes you'll see below. But, I'm not sure what was really going on upstairs (add that to the things to work on: be more realistic about expectations), as time went skittering away quite rapidly upon our return home last evening.

So, I submit to you, three salads (see, not just one!) that I have every intention of making before this season's corn is gone for good. (Which means, in the next week or so!)

Summer vegetable potato salad

Roasted corn Caesar salad

Charred corn and cherry tomato salad

The biggest question is: which one should I make first?

What's on your list to make before the summer produce runs out? Or have you already transitioned to fall food? Tell me where you're at with seasonal eating!

Jen and I (and now my mom and Lisa too!) are blog challenging throughout September. You can catch her blog over at Stuff Jen Says. If you want to write along with us, give me a shout and I'll send you the blog prompts.

Sept. 4: Kale makes me happy, but you already knew that!

Another kale salad? Why the heck not! My love of kale has been well-documented this summer, and adding yet another salad to the mix just seemed to make sense. Though, truthfully, this post ends up being more about the dressing than the salad... 

Originally the plan was for the kale caesar salad (see the video below). Then I realized I'm not really a fan of anchovies, and wasn't in the mood to buy them just for this salad. Capers aren't something I love love, either. So I took the idea, and the general concept from the recipe that PBS posted (one of their most clicked on recipes in the month of August!) and adapted to suit my tastes.



Pretty funny pup, eating kale, eh? I love this video. It's a very happy salad-making moment. (I put the happy in there just for you, Jen.)

I also had a really great kale salad at a juice/salad place in Seattle earlier this summer, and have been meaning to recreate that combination of flavors all summer. So this salad really turned into an amalgam of 1) what is around and fresh, 2) my taste memories and 3) any excuse to throw a handful of parmesan cheese into a bowl and call it healthful!

Kale salad with corn, avocado and tomato
Serves 2, as a side dish, 1 if you're me
3 large handfuls of prepped kale--destemmed, roughly chopped or ripped
1 large tomato, diced
1/2 avocado, cubed
1 ear corn, roasted and cut off the cob
1 cup croutons, homemade preferable but storebought is allowed ;)
1/3 cup shredded parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste

Dressing
2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 large bunch parsley, washed
1 egg yolk
2 tsp. dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. sherry vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil

Put all the dressing ingredients into a blender and whiz on high until blended well.

Put the kale in a large mixing bowl and drizzle the dressing generously over the leaves. Massage the kale with your hands until the leaves wilt and the dressing is very well integrated.

Add the rest of the salad ingredients except the parmesan, and toss to combine. Add a bit more dressing to the salad to ensure that the additional ingredients get coated well with dressing. Add the parmesan last and toss one more time, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

This recipe makes more dressing than needed for one salad. Put the rest of the dressing in a jar and refrigerate. Its pretty greenness will call to you from the fridge!

This salad and dressing are both keepers. I love the bite of the shallots and garlic, as well as the green goddess appearance from the parsley. I will be tossing this dressing on many a salad in the near future!

Enjoy. These waning days of summer, all I want is the good, fresh produce that I know is going to vanish before we know it. Poof.

Jen and I (and now my mom and Lisa too!) are blog challenging throughout September. You can catch her blog over at Stuff Jen Says. If you want to write along with us, give me a shout and I'll send you the blog prompts.

Black bean and corn salad

his salad is an old standby, and one that has many variations, as well. (It also falls into the "salad? salsa? who knows, who cares, it's just yummy" category.) I used to make this at least once a week in the old catering days, and also had a taco salad version on my delivered lunch menu that I still make for myself every now and again. And it's one of those flavor combinations I could eat very frequently; I just don't get tired of it. You know how some flavors you think about 10 bites in, yeah, great, whatever, that was fine but I don't need any more of it? Not this one (for me)!

Black bean and corn salad
4 cups of corn--can be frozen and thawed, or straight off the cob, steamed and cooled
2 cans of black beans
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
3 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp ground cumin

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and stir gently. Chill for an hour or two to let the flavors mingle, then stir again and serve.

Additions/variations to this salad that I particularly enjoy are:
* Avocado
* Grated cheese
* A dallop of sour cream
* Served on a bed of lettuce
* Scooped by tortilla chips

Well, now you know what I'm having for lunch today! Can't wait.

Salad or salsa? You decide!

angoes: from the first bite I was hooked. Like eating sunshine, I said at the time, and I still stand by that statement. Don't get me wrong, I've had a bad mango or two since that first one... stringy or mushy or dark spots, ugh. But especially when picked ripe on their home turf (Mexico, Australia...), they are just divine.

So when I saw the local grocery produce dude piling them up all Mt. Everest-like, I had to pick a few off the pile to take home. Had no clue what I would make with them, but again, this isn't one I have to worry too much about sharing around. The boys will help me polish off dried mangoes any old day, but no one really says "me too!" to my mango salad experiments. And tonight I was thankful for that--last thing I wanted to do was share this bowl of mango goodness! I still can't decide whether it's a salad or a salsa, but given that I ate it with tortilla chips, the question just might be answered...

Mango-corn salad/salsa
Serves 2 
2 mangoes, peeled and cubed
2 ears of corn, cooked and cut off the cob
1 avocado, cubed
4 green onions, chopped finely
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup cilantro, diced finely
Olive oil
Lime juice
Salt

Combine first six ingredients in a bowl, drizzle olive oil and lime juice and toss. Add salt to taste. Server over greens, or with tortilla chips, whichever suits you.

This really hit the spot with me tonight. I spent a couple of hours getting the drip system ready to roll again (benefit of mild weather has been putting that sorry task off for too long), and was tired and wet (wild sprinklers) and hungry. I devoured half of the salad in no time, and will enjoy the rest for lunch tomorrow!

Just in case you find the prospect of peeling and cubing a mango intimidating (I know I did the first time I tried it), I've included a handy little video on cutting up mangoes. While I think the technique shows the right way to accomplish the task, I take issue with the actual mango being cut up--it's way green. (Which of course makes for easier cutting.) I only say that to encourage ample mango ripening, thus adding to the sunshine quotient in the fruit!

Ricotta ravioli with fresh corn cream sauce

Heaven! I'm practically live-blogging this little slice of paradise as I eat... (Side note: I've decided that the shorter the window between cooking and posting, the higher the likelihood that posting actually takes place... I don't know exactly why, but my interest in sharing wanes fairly quickly.) (Quiet on the ADHD comments, Kim. :))

Back to heaven. On a plate. I mentioned the ricotta gnocchi with fresh corn cream sauce I enjoyed while dining out last week, and so wanted to replicate it as closely as possible. This did the trick for me, sauce wise, and since I already had the ricotta filling on hand, it was very easy just to make a few quick ravioli.

Easy ravioli
Serves one
Ricotta filling
Six square wonton wraps

Lay out wonton wraps. Place a tablespoon of ricotta filling in the middle of each wonton wrapper. Dip your finger in a small glass of water and run it around the outside edge of the wonton, and fold over into a triangle, pressing the edges together to seal. Set aside. Repeat with remaining five wontons.


Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil, turn down so it's barely simmering. Gently place the ravioli in the water and simmer for 3-4 minutes, until they rise to the surface. Don't boil too long or they will tear apart. Drain ravioli in a colander and then place on a plate, waiting for the perfect sauce.

Fresh corn cream sauce
Serves one
1 shallot, minced
1/2 cup fresh corn, cut off the cob (I suppose you could use frozen, but it will be a far cry from this farm-fresh delight)
2 tsp butter
1/3 cup cream
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 egg, whisked
Basil and cherry tomatoes for garnish

Melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until softened. Add corn and saute until cooked through, about 4 minutes. Turn heat down to low. In a small bowl, crack the egg and whisk. Add the cream and grated parmesan and stir well. Pour cream mixture into the saute pan and stir until the cream is warmed and parmesan has melted. Gently ladle over the ravioli. Garnish with chopped basil and halved cherry tomatoes and enjoy.


The last bite is gone and I'm sad. That was really an end-of-summer treasure. Joyous. Now off to pluck the basil leaves off two garbage bags of basil I harvested tonight... green thumbs (literally!), anyone?!