Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad with Feta Dressing

This is a delicious salad for savoring the last days of summer!!

It has a few steps to get it done but definitely worth it based on the rave reviews from people at my last couple backyard gatherings! I’ve made it both with jalapeño and hatch peppers, that are all the rave right now, and only here for a short time. I have not made this with romaine, substituted a mix of greens instead. Tomatoes are a great addition to this salad as well.

No picture of the dressing in this blog post, but so easy to make and soooo good! You need to grill the veggies first though since the pepper is added to the dressing. I’m a little wimpy with peppers so I use less than the recipe calls for.

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Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad with Feta Dressing from @NYTcooking

Brush corn, scallions and pepper with olive oil and grill for 5-8 minutes. Grill pan works fine too or even the stove top! (picture below)

You can bypass the grill by putting veggies on the stovetop. But if you have the grill already going outside, it’s much faster to do that!!

Let the corn cobs cool a bit, and then cut the kernels from the cob.

Add favorite greens or romaine lettuce, about 8 cups, to a large bowl. I love a mixture of chard, baby kale, and spinach. Toss with 1/2 of the dressing.

Add the rest of the ingredients and top with remaining dressing.

Wonderful as a side salad and also can be an entree salad (below) with chicken.

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Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad With Feta Dressing

Author: Sue Li @NYTcooking

Delicious Summer Salad with an amazing Feta Buttermilk Dressing! Yum!

Ingredients

• 6 ears corn (about 3 pounds), shucked and silk removed
• 1 bunch scallions (about 6), trimmed
• 1 jalapeño, stemmed and halved lengthwise
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)
• ⅓ cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 small garlic clove, grated
• ¼ cup sliced fresh chives
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 medium head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces (about 8 cups)
• 2 avocados, sliced

Instructions

1. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high. Brush corn, scallions and jalapeño with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange on the grill and cook, turning occasionally, until corn kernels are browned in spots, 6 to 8 minutes, and the scallions and jalapeño are charred all over and tender, 9 to 10 minutes. Transfer vegetables to a cutting board and let cool slightly.
2. In a medium bowl, using a whisk, mash the feta into a coarse paste. Whisk in buttermilk, lemon zest and juice and garlic, then stir in chives and parsley. Finely chop the charred jalapeño and stir it into the feta dressing; season with salt and pepper.
3. In a large bowl, toss lettuce with half the feta dressing and arrange on a platter. Cut corn kernels off the cob and slice scallions into bite-size pieces. Arrange avocado slices, corn and scallions on top of the lettuce. Serve with remaining dressing.

Notes:

I find I do not need any extra salt since the feta cheese provides that salty flavor. You can use the stovetop, grill pan or broiler to char the vegetables if you do not want to use a grill!

Modify with heartier greens such as kale, chard and spinach. Addition of chicken makes it an entree salad. In season tomatoes are a nice addition as well. Enjoy!!

Two Easy Summer Salads

Hello! Hope you are enjoying your summer!

Here are a couple of, oh so simple but tasty salads. Summer Watermelon Cucumber Salad from Gelsons Markets and Avocado Corn Salad from Natashas Kitchen.

Who wants to be in the kitchen in the heat of August? These salads beg to be enjoyed outside! I had no idea it was National Farmers Market week this week. If you can visit your local Farmers Market and pick up some produce…what a treat. Juicy heirloom tomatoes, sweet fresh corn, crisp cucumbers. Yum!

So simple, yet so refreshing! A Summer Watermelon Cucumber Salad.

3 cups diced watermelon, 1 cup diced, peeled hot house cucumber, 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice, 2 Tbsp fresh mint, slivered, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1/4 cup crumbled feta and DONE! Salt and pepper optional to me since the feta gives the salty flavor!

Watermelon Cucumber Salad from Gelsons Markets. So juicy and crisp. Just love it!

Avocado Corn Salad

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You’ll need 1/2 medium red onion, 2 avocados, 3 ears of corn cooked and kernels cut from the cob, tomatoes, 1 lime, cilantro, garlic, olive oil., salt and pepper. I also add some cumin.

Cook 3-4 ears of corn in some salted water, bring to a boil and then simmer covered for about 5-6 minutes or until done. When cooled, cut the corn off the cob.

2 Tbsp olive oil, 2-3 Tbsp lime juice, approximately 1/4 tsp ground cumin, 2 cloves garlic, zest of one small lime. whisk together and toss into salad below.

1/2 medium red onion sliced, 3-4 ears of fresh corn cooked and cut off the cob, 1-2 large heirloom tomatoes, 1/4 cups chopped cilantro, 2 avocados sliced.

I added a bed of arugula and some chicken. On the side is some flatbread with the leftover feta and red onion. Yummy!

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Avocado Corn Salad

Yield: 6

Author: Natasha Kravchuk

Delicious Summer salad using in season ingredients!

Ingredients

• 1 pound cherry tomatoes halved or quartered
• 3 ears corn shucked, cooked, and cut off the cob
• 2 avocados peeled, pitted and sliced
• 1/2 red onion (medium) thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup cilantro chopped (1/2 small bunch)
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 Tbsp lime juice from 1-2 limes
• 2 garlic cloves pressed or finely minced
• 1/2-3/4 tsp table salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin, optional

Instructions

1. In a large salad bowl, combine sliced tomatoes, corn kernels, sliced avocado, thinly sliced red onion, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro and press in 2 garlic cloves
2. Drizzle the top with 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 2-3 Tbsp lime juice (adding it to taste) add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Toss the salad gently until just combined and serve.

Notes:

Tips: In season Heirloom tomato, is wonderful in this salad. Salt this salad to taste, you may not need much. I added some ground cumin to my dressing which I combined in a separate bowl and added to the salad.

I put this salad over a bed or arugula, added some grilled chicken and served with a side of flatbread. Yum!

Enjoy!

Curried Lentil Soup

Hope this Tuesday finds you safe and well! I am enjoying making some soups and stews while the weather is rainy and chilly. I am also trying to use what I have so that I am not running to the store in a time where we need to be staying home as much as possible! This recipe is quick, easy, healthy, and adaptable to whatever beans or vegetables you have on hand. I waited until I needed to shop this week to pick up the dried apricots since I did not have them on hand. Probably just fine if you left them out too.

This recipe is another awesome recipe from the Healthy Kitchens Healthy Lives Conference I attended in February 2020! Auden McClure, MD, MPH, a Pediatrician and Chef presented this dish. She is director of Culinary Medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchock Medical Center in New Hampshire. My thoughts, safe wishes and gratitude goes out to all the Physicians, Nurses, Healthcare workers and Hospital Staff everywhere. Thank you for all you do! And thank you to anyone who is working in those essential jobs and professions that keep us safe and healthy!

This recipe calls for 6 cups of stock so make sure to use a pot big enough to fit that along with all of the other ingredients! Recipe at the bottom of the post.

Start with one onion chopped. I had some shallot to use up so I added that as well! Saute’ in oil (whatever you have on hand) until a bit brown.

Add 2 finely chopped carrots, diced, dried apricots, garlic, spices and 1 celery stalk. I love using the celery leaves as well. I tend to add the garlic towards the end so it doesn’t burn. I also tend to go lighter on the salt and add more to taste at the end, especially if you are not using a low sodium broth or stock. Saute’ around 5 minutes.

Vegetables, spices, and garlic added to pan with onion.

Saute’ 3-5 minutes

Add the lentils 3/4 cup each of green lentils and red lentils

Add the stock or broth of any kind, 6 cups. I like to use low sodium broth or stock and add salt to taste..

All that is missing is the addition of whatever greens you need to use up! I made this last night to have for dinner tonight so I did not add the greens. When I reheat it, I will add greens to it!

And here it is….A very tasty, very nourishing, very adaptable soup to whatever ingredients you have on hand. See the suggestions for alternate ingredients in the recipe below. This is a high fiber, vegetarian dish but you can easily add leftover chicken or meat to it if you wish. Use whatever greens you need to use up; kale, chard, spinach. I hope you enjoy it!

Looking forward to the day that I can see you again, face to face in my office. In the meantime i am “seeing” clients via telehealth which has been great! Please reach out if you would like to “see” me this way.

Stay safe, Be Well!

-Brenda

My Favorite Recipe from Napa

Spicy Lemongrass Tofu with Asian Basil

As participants of the Healthy Kitchens Healthy Lives conference In Napa Valley, CA, we were exposed to hundreds of recipes. This was my favorite. I have never worked with lemongrass before and some of these ingredients can be hard to find. I did not want to wait until I had everything on hand to make this dish so I skipped the thai chilis and added some cayenne pepper to the marinade. I also used regular basil this time. It was still good! Next time I will experience it as written. Click here for a short video on prepping lemongrass.

Using a firm (not extra firm tofu) I take it out of the package and get some of the moisture out of it by placing on paper towels and then putting something heavy on top of it for about 30 minutes. While that is prepping, you can get the lemongrass ready by first chopping it into a much smaller piece and then basically peeling it back until you get to the softer inner part. Then you can chop it and put into a mortar and pestle to pulverize it along with the chilis (not pictured here). After the chilis and lemongrass are pulverized, add the soy sauce, sugar and tumeric and mix well.

tumeic, soy sauce and sugar for the marinade., Onions shallots and garlic for a saucepan.

Add the marinade to the sliced tofu (sliced fairly thin) and let it sit for 30 minutes. The marinade is more like a dry rub. It is not supposed to have much liquid. Add the onions, garlic and shallots to a sauce pan with 1 Tbsp oil, seasoned with some salt. The vegetables are not meant to brown,  more like steam. Cook for one minute, covered and then add 1 Tbsp water and continue to cook covered for 5-8 minutes until the onions are translucent and soft, then set aside.

After the tofu has marinated 30 minutes, it is time to cook in a non stick pan with 2 Tbsp of oil. Make sure the oil is hot and then place the tofu in the pan and cook on both sides until brown and caramelized, (last picture above).

Once the tofu is brown, add the onion mixture and toss to warm and combine with tofu. Add 1/2 of the peanuts and thai basil and then garnish each plate with the rest of the nuts and basil. I served this over brown rice with some steamed broccoli on the side. Enjoy!!

Spicy Lemongrass Tofu with Asian Basil