Corn and Opal Basil Salad with Avocado

.
Now lookie here my little geese. My darling ganders. My sweet peaches.

What with that arbitrary holiday known as Labor Day (which I am all for, being a Union lovin’ gal and a bit of a socialist at heart and whatall) having come and gone you may be thinking “Alas! Summer is over! Whoa is me!”

But lament not!

According to the sun and the moon and the celestial path of this good earth I can assure you summer (in these here parts) is not at all over. (Unless you are the school attending type I suspect) And the bounty continues and the delicacies abound and let’s face it…there is much to revel in still.

You can still feel the sweet kiss of the sun and bite in to the heavenly fruits of the day. The moment has not passed.

(And to think. You accuse me of being hyperbolic. Haven’t we talked about this? I am! I am!)

As a darned fine example of the sustainable pleasures on which we feast, I offer you this. This dreamy delight. This earthy rendition of fantastic. This which will make your eyes smile and your mouth sing. Yes indeedy my angels my loves, this is that good. This is that simple. This is that close to summertime perfection.

This recipe, which was taught to me (though altered slightly) by the amazing, the incredible, the utterly foxy, Meg, of Large Marge Sustainable Catering, is what I am talkin' about. (And I hope if you have any catering needs you will give her sweet self a jingle and tell her I send my love.)

And as a fabulous bonus in my particular case, the ingredients seen here are all from my garden (yes, even the avocado). Which makes my heart beat that much louder and my desire for you to try it that much stronger. Home grown happiness.

Now please do try this and taste the joy.

4 ears of sweet corn
1 large avocado, diced
1/2 cup small, whole, purple (opal) basil leaves
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt

Cut the kernels from the corn. Toss (oh so gently) with the rest of the ingredients. Season. Taste. Re-season as needed. Serve as soon as possible.

Serves four.

© 2008 Fresh Approach Cooking
______________________________________

© 2008 Rachael at "Fresh Approach Cooking" www.freshcatering.blogspot.com

This RSS Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, or at the aforementioned url, the site you are looking at is guilty of infringing upon terms of my copyright. And generally cheesing me off.

In LA? Come take a cooking class at LA Food Works!

More than 50 million students eat lunch in school cafeterias daily. With the dawn of the new school year, districts across the country are signing on to the burgeoning "farm-to-school" movement. As a result, a number of school districts have cut back on fruits and vegetables purchased from large distributors in favor of working individually with local farmers. While that can be more expensive and may involve more work, food directors say it pays dividends in fresher, better-tasting produce that more kids eat. Signing up more kids for school lunches can help the bottom line, since schools receive a per-student subsidy from the Agriculture Department's National School Lunch Program. At the same time, schools are bolstering regional agricultural economies. - WSJ

Dark opal basil is a cultivar of Ocimum basilicum (sweet basil), developed by the University of Connecticut and John Scarchuk in the 1950s. With deep purple, sometimes mottled leaves, it is grown as much for its decorative appeal as for its culinary value. Dark opal basil is a past winner of the All-American Selection award. - Wikipedia