Corn Salad

 Good luck I have a day off, cause I forgot to settle my alarm clock - therefore I sleept till 9.30. I must have tired. Even yesterday evening I fell asleep in front of the TV. This happend three times the last week. I always miss the TV show I want to see, damm (sorry!)



Corn Salad

 

Finished!

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The ingredients came almost entirely from the farmers' market.

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Even husking corn is fun! (Although husking is great activity for interested children...)

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Drying the grape tomatoes, just like we did the blueberries a few weeks ago, gently in a kitchen towel.

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Now, the recipe called for two quarts of grape tomatoes. This is a lot of tomatoes. Luckily, there'a trick for slicing all the little buggers in half. First, get two lids (deli or quart container...

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Cover them with the other, inverted, lid.

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And while applying even pressure, slice between the lids. A very sharp chef's knife works well, as does a serrated knife. You're left with perfectly halved tomatoes in roughly one millionth...

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We chose to use the optional quart of sugar snap peas, but we didn't use them raw, instead we blanched them for 2-3 minutes in boiling, salted water. If the sugar snaps are gorgeous and perfectly...

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After shaving the kernels off, Merrill was sure to scrape the cobs with the back of her knife, to get all the corn milk out of the cob.

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Once the sugar snaps were blanched, we peeled off their strings, and cut them in thirds.

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After tossing all the vegetables together, we seasoned (guess how...) and used 4T of balsamic vinegar.

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As the salad sat, the corn released some its juices, dressing it a bit. It was lovely.

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Serves 4

• 8 ears of white corn or canned corn
• 2 quarts cherry tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons high-quality balsamic vinegar
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 quart sugar snap peas (Optional)
• 1 handful rough-chopped basil or flat-leaf parsley (Optional)
• salt
• pepper

1. Strip raw corn from ears. Yep, raw. You can use a fancy corn stripper or just run your chef's knife down the side of each ear about 8 times.
2. Slice all cherry tomatoes in half or quarters depending on your preference.
3. Chop the red onion into a large dice.
4. If using the sugar-snap peas, cut in half or thirds to make more bite-sized. If you're not using them, and you want a little green for visual appeal, some roguh chopped basil or flat-leaf parsley will do the trick.
5. Toss all vegetables in a bowl, along with the vinegar, salt and pepper.               

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Sorry no picture! The battery was low and I had no new ones!

 

 

Eggplant and Tomato Curry

 

Serves 4-6

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 onion, sliced
• 4 Japanese  eggplants, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1 serrano chile, seeded and chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 14 ounces canned diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan until it shimmers. Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and heat about 30 seconds, until they pop.
2. Add the sliced onions, and stir occasionally over medium high heat until they are deep brown in spots (this will take a while, but makes a big difference to the taste and they won't burn if you are careful).
3. Add the eggplant and fry until the skin is turning brown and the flesh just starts to soften. You may have to add a little more oil.
4. Add the chile, coriander, garam masala, tomatoes, and salt and pepper. Turn heat to medium low and cook until the eggplant is soft. Add a little water if it is getting too dry but it will be more solid than watery.
5. Serve with white rice