Week 9: We're All Ears

THIS WEEK'S HIT: Seaside Corn and Bean Salad

You really should try the corn here. It's been ... a-maize-ing. (Sorry.)

We are at the halfway point of our CSA season, and this week brought us corn, carrots, tomatoes, summer squash, pickling cucumbers, bell pepper, an Italian eggplant, and a bouquet of "pick your own" flowers. The flowers were a bit of a pain to gather, but they looked kinda nice in our family room.

We made good use of the eggplant, squash, bell pepper, and some of the tomatoes in a "south-of-the-border" ratatouille. (Following a suggestion in the Moosewood Cookbook, I subbed cumin and chili powder for the more conventional basil and oregano.) We served the ratatouille with grilled corn, spiced up with chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and/or lime.

More corn (not grilled) was sauteed with native green beans, red onion, and scallions for a quick summer succotash. And I borrowed liberally from an old magazine recipe to put together a corn and bean salad that was perfect for a picnic at the beach.

Seaside Corn and Bean Salad

Ingredients

1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1.5 cups corn kernels, cooked (cut from 2 ears of corn)
1/2 cup diced cucumber (seeded)
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1 Tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp basil, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp powdered mustard
1/4 tsp curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Mix together the beans, corn, cucumber, pepper, onion, parsley, and garlic in a medium bowl. Whisk the olive oil with vinegar and spices. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and mix gently to combine. Chill for a couple of hours for flavors to blend. Serves 4.