It’s been ages since my last post. It’s summer. It’s hot out. I have been looking for delicious and oven-free ways to make dinners for my family. We just had a friend come from out of town and she was telling me about her CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program back home in Montana. It inspired me to seek out the local farms in our new neighborhood. (We just moved a month ago!) I drew up only two places that are open on Sunday, as most places were pop up markets on Fridays and Saturdays. I discovered two places, Pete’s Produce Farm in Westtown and the SIW Vegetable market in Chadds Ford. We scored some fabulously fresh produce and I couldn’t wait to get home to make something delicious for dinner.
Everything was local. We picked up some red potatoes, sweet bi color corn, some gorgeous purple peppers, lemons, sugar baby watermelon, cucumbers, peaches, some fabulous heirloom tomatoes among others.
When we got home, I immediately starting thinking up what to make for dinner. The other night, I had made a salsa with tomato, cucumber & peppers. I really wanted to use the gorgeous non-GMO corn we bought. So, I decided I’d do a take on a corn & cucumber salad recipe I saw at the farmer’s market. Actually, I changed the entire recipe, but it was where I started. Here’s my summer salad…completely locally grown. That’s what I call a successful summer dinner salad. I served it up with some local roasted red potatoes in olive oil and some garlicky lemon basil chicken. I may not like the intense summer heat, but this is one way I can enjoy the tasty fruits (and vegetables) of summer’s harvest.
Local Heirloom Tomato, Cucumber & Sweet Maize Salad
2 freshly shucked ears of corn, slice off corn
1 large heirloom tomato, cubed
1 large cucumber, seeded and cubed
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 small vidalia onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed
6 or 8 fresh basil leaves (grow it yourself!)
Juice of 1/2 of a lemon
1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
cracked pepper to taste
1. Slice the corn off two ears of corn into a large bowl. Peel, seed and dice up a large cucumber. Chop up your heirloom tomato and sweet vidalia onion and put all of your vegetables together. Use a garlic press with two garlic cloves.
2. Add 1 TBSP of extra virgin olive oil and mix in the juice of 1/2 of a lemon. Season with kosher salt & cracked pepper to taste. Mix it well and chill or serve at room temperature.
Katazina 