Blossoms and Babies

A few scattered brave blossoms has exploded into whole orchards of beauty.

Elsewhere … babies! That is seedling Brentwood Sweet Corn for the uninitiated. And thus begins the most frustrating time of the year … in the stores (no farm stands open yet) are still carrots, potatoes, parsnips and such … but my mind is on to farm stands with corn, tomatoes, strawberries and blackberries! Patience, patience, patience.

Potato Skins with Tomato and Corn Salsa

Perfect summer dinner meal here! We’re trying to do the eating local thing at our house as much as possible for oh, so many reasons. At this time of year, even with the asparagus and strawberry fields preparing for next year, the bounty of delicious food in our area is simply divine. I wonder how this optimism will hold up during carrot and onion season. *grin*

This recipe is from The Vegetarian Cookbook (the practical guide to preparing and cooking delicious vegetarian meals) edited by Nicola Graimes. I’ve used this cookbook several times and like it for the beautiful pictures and clear directions. So often you have to choose between the quality of those two, but this book has been dependable in both. I selected this recipe for 2 very clear reasons: Potatoes (oh yeah, I am a potato ho!), and “salsa.” Tomato salsa, veggie salsa, pepper salsa, fruit salsa …. everything is better with salsa!!!

While I don’t usually turn on the oven at this time of year, the outside temperature was down to the 80’s this evening, so I did go for the broiler for just a few minutes. Also, the original recipe calls for baked potatoes, and while the skins on baked potatoes are clearly more yumm-a-licious than those from the microwave, there was just no chance that the oven was going to be on in this house for that long!

Ingredients:

4 red potatoes

corn kernels from one grilled cob

1 large or 2 medium tomatoes, diced

2 shallots, finely sliced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1 red jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped

3 TBS cilantro

olive oil

1 TBS lime juice

cheddar cheese, grated

salt and pepper

lime wedges for garnish

Directions:

1. Bake or microwave potatoes, slice in half, scoop out most of the flesh. (Sure, you can snack on this while making the dish!)

2. Combine corn, tomatoes, shallots, red bell pepper, chili, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix together well.

3. Preheat the broiler.

4. Brush the insides of the potato skins with olive oil and put under the broiler for 3 minutes.

5. Spoon salsa into the potato skins and sprinkle with just a bit of cheese over the top. Return the filled potato skins to the broiler and cook until the cheese has melted, about 2 minutes.

6. Squeeze a little lime juice on top of each potato skin, and serve with an extra wedge of lime.

Side note: for those of you who like to play “What’s different in these 2 pictures?” in the Sunday comics, you may note a missing item in the background of this picture. What is missing?

Grilled Corn and Black Bean Salad

Do you have a “go to” recipe or two that you can just pull out of your hat at any time? This little ditty is one of my “go to” recipes. I do cringe a bit at even calling it a recipe as it is really more of a gentle guide. For me, these items are always at the ready in the fridge and pantry, making it all the easier to whip together quickly. I hesitate to label this as a salad, and it is probably more often served as a chunky dip with corn tortilla chips, and has even been used as a side dish. My friend J has been asking me to post this one ever since our families devoured a bowl of it on her back deck recently. So, here you go!

First, the guidelines to match the preparation in the photo, then I’ll give you the inside scoop on the easy variations and how to avoid going overboard.

One key here is the grilled corn. While there are several methods for grilling corn – smoky grill or gas, husks on or off, high heat or low – for this dish, I always go for the grilled on a gas grill, husks off, high heat, about 3 minutes between turns of the corn. It does make some of the corn a bit charred, but it is really good that way. And I know that you can butter your corn, fold the husks back up, tie it with a bit of twine and toss it on the grill, but butter is not what you are looking for here. At this time of year I tend to grill up an extra cob or 2 when I’m cooking dinner, as I find it any extras a perfect snack the next day. Also, with the temperatures here over 100 the past few days, our stove and oven are totally off limits for cooking!

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cobs grilled corn, kernels cut from the cob

1 large or 2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 avocado, cubed

juice of 1 lime

olive oil (optional)

salt

pepper

Directions:

1. Toss the beans and corn into a bowl. Top with tomatoes and add salt and pepper to taste. This dish is best with a little salt on the tomatoes, but I’m not a fan of salted black beans, hence the order of added ingredients. Mix.

2. Add avocado, lime juice, and just a bit of olive oil (if desired). Mix gently.

3. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Variations:

Always use 1 can of black beans to 2 cobs of grilled corn.

From that point, select any 2 (just 2, really, I’ve tried more and the basic flavors get lost and you will end up more with an odd succotash kind of thing)

• 1 large tomato
• 1 avocado
• handful of chopped cilantro
• 3 or so sliced green onions, including greens

My favorite? black beans, grilled corn, avocado, and cilantro, munched down with tortilla chips. Yum!

Very Local Corn

Local Corn

I set out today with my trusty camera to capture a local farmstand on the way home. Turns out local can be even more local than that. A friend at work brought in a whole box of lovely corn, given to her by her next door neighbor. And this is not just any ol’ corn, but Brentwood Corn. For years I thought we were just bragging about our wonderful Brentwood corn, luscious as it is, but when I even saw it in grocery stores in neighboring states, I realized how fortunate we are.

Dinner tonight will be Chicken Ceasar salad, and corn. Really. I’ve become somewhat of a student of the grill over the past few years, as the prep and clean up are a breeze.

At the start of the corn season, we just boil or grill it briefly so it keeps its lovely crunch. At this point in the season, we’re looking for variations. Tonight I went with the ever popular chili corn to contrast with the coolness of the salad. The crunchy texture, sweetness of the corn, and heat from the chili powder create a lovely combination.

Chili corn:

corn

butter

chili powder

Shuck corn and grill at medium low heat until kernels can be easily pierced by a fork (about 15 minutes). Butter ever so lightly, and sprinkle with chili powder.