Corn Salad

Summer is the season of the corn and it is everywhere on sale. There are some great deals out here and you can get 6 ears for a buck in the summer. I love corn. It brings so many childhood memories. My grandma used to boil it for a long time and it was never as sweet as it is today. I used to add a little sugar to the water when I cooked my corn but these days it is not necessary. It's not the Soviet corn of my childhood and today's corn has been engineered and is sweet even raw. In fact, I often chose my corn by picking one kernel of the corn and tasting it to see if it is sweet. In the summer I am doing a lot of grilling. Often to optimize my time and to avoid running between the stove and the grill I try to just grill. The other  day I baked potatoes right on the upper shelf. If I am grilling something already, I put corn in it's husk on the upper shelf of the grill or over small flame. It does not exactly grill it, but rather steams it in its husk. Lately all of the corn has been super sweet. I can eat a lot of it if I do not stop myself. There are a lot of things that can be done with corn. I find myself most often making a salad rather then soup or a corn chowder, although I like those, too. This salad is really simple and can be served warm or cold.

approx 2 tbsp oil for sauteing
1 small onion or a 1/2 large preferably sweet, diced
8 oz of mushrooms chopped
1 red pepper, diced
3 ears of corn (kernels only)
3 green onions chopped
2-3 tbsp of fresh dill
1/4 c -1/3 balsamic vinegar
salt pepper to taste.
optional 1 garlic clove pressed
It is fun to get one of the ears of corn in different color. One white the rest is yellow, of the other way around but not necessary. I start by sauteing an onion and add to it mushrooms then pepper.Corn kernels is added last and it does not need too much cooking. There is a tricky part to cooking corn. There is so much sugar in it that its going to inevitably get caramelized to the bottom of the pan. You can stir and stir but it is unavoidable. The only thing you can to is not to scrape the burnt on sugar off the bottom with your spatula. It does not matter if you have a non stick pan or in constant motion stirring, it is going to happen. just do not scrape that burnt on sugar into the salad. In few minutes, when the corn is cooked, transfer it to the bowl and add the vinegar, dill and green onion.and mix the salad while it is still hot. You can substitute fresh dill for parsley, basil of other fresh herbs, it's your choice. It is a nice side dish or a cold salad the next day.

Lentil Salad

This was one of the salads for Teacher Appreciation Lunch. Very easy to make and about 20 minutes to prepare altogether.
1/2 lbs of dry lentils
1 small red onion or 1/2 large
1/2 large pepper red or yellow (I do not like green peppers in this salad)
1 celery stalk
1 small cucumber
3 green onions
5-6 sprigs of dill or parsley, or both
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove
salt and pepper
Cook lentils in large amount of water for 15 min but not more then 20. They will at least double in volume and taste al dente. While the lentils cook, chop the vegetables as you like. On the picture I left long stripes of onions, but since it was taken I cut everything in more uniform dice. Prepare the dressing of oil and vinegar and press a garlic clove into it as well as add salt and pepper. Drain the lentils and cool for about 10 minute but while lentils are still hot add the dressing to them. Mix well. You will notice that a lot of the dressing may get absorbed by the lentils. Add the rest of the chopped ingredients and mix well. If needed more vinegar or oil may be added. I notice that the heat of the lentils somewhat reduces the acidity and sharp taste of the vinegar and as the salad cools overall flavor marry and balance each other out. I have tried it hot and it works well as it cools and even the next day.