Jeanette Chen of Jeanette’s Healthy Cooking enjoys the great taste of Mexican street corn, but finds it’s not always easy to eat or bring to a picnic.
Continue readingMexican Corn Tomato Feta Salad
Jeanette’s Mexican Corn Quinoa Salad
Jeanette Chen of Jeanette’s Healthy Living shares this festive, summer salad, whose idea comes from the Mexican street food called Esquites, which is served in little cups. It’s a mixture of boiled or sautéed corn, mayonnaise, Cojita cheese, cilantro and chili powder. Sometimes jalapeño peppers are added too. What she loves about this recipe is the combination of sweet (from the corn), spicy (chili powder), and salty (Cojita cheese). This recipe is on the milder side but you can spice it up by adding additional cayenne pepper or chili powder. This serves 25, buffet style, so feel free to half it for a smaller crowd.
Jeanette’s Mexican Corn Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 cups corn
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups cooked quinoa
2½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1½ cups cooked black beans
1 cup cojita cheese (feta or romano cheese would also work), crumbled
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
3 tablespoons scallions, minced
2 limes, juiced
1½ teaspoon chili powder
a few dashes of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt, to taste
fresh ground pepper, to taste
Directions
Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté corn and garlic until corn has some brown spots (that’s the caramelization that makes the corn even sweeter). Transfer to a large bowl and toss in the rest of the ingredients. Season to your liking with additional chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.
Follow the delicious recipes of Jeanette on her website: http://jeanetteshealthyliving.com
Simple Chopped Panzanella Salad
Busy New Canaan mom, Eila Johnson, writes the full plate blog, which teaches busy parents how to make simple, nourishing recipes for their families and friends. On hot summer days, Eila likes to make a hearty salad for their family dinner. The recipe she is sharing with Walter Stewart’s shoppers this month takes advantage of local beefsteak tomatoes and Stewart’s house-made crostini. Eila’s kids like salads they can easily eat, so lately she’s been making a lot of chopped salads. To make the salad even heartier, you could top it with grilled chicken, shrimp, sausages, or cannellini beans. “This also makes a perfect potluck dish,” says Eila. “Everyone loves this salad. If you’re making it ahead, just layer the salad ingredients in a serving bowl, and toss them with the dressing when you get to your gathering!”
Simple Chopped Panzanella Salad
(makes 8-10 servings)
for the salad:
2 lbs (about 3 large) tomatoes, chopped into ½” pieces
1 English cucumber, chopped into ½” pieces
2/3-3/4 lb lightly salted fresh mozzarella (I used bocconcini)
1 package of Stewart’s own crostini (found near the bakery shelf*)
½ a red onion, diced
¼ cup capers (optional)
for the dressing:
½ cup olive oil
juice of 2 lemons
1 cup fresh basil
2 cloves garlic
salt & pepper, to taste
To make the dressing, combine olive oil, lemon juice, basil, garlic, salt and pepper in blender until combined. For the salad: chop the tomatoes, cucumber, mozzarella and crostini into about the same size pieces. Chop the onion into a small dice. Assembling the salad: layer the salad ingredients in a serving bowl. Once ready to serve, drizzle the salad ingredients with dressing and toss to combine all ingredients. *If you can’t find crostini, you may use 2 cups of hearty bread that you either toast or leave out overnight so it becomes ‘stale’.
The Full Plate blog was named to Forbes’ 2012 Top 100 Sites for Women, Forbes’ Top 10 Parenting and Homemaking Sites, and was ranked in the Top 5 “Foodie Mom Blogs” on a major parenting site in both 2012 and 2013.
Lisa’s Greek Salad
Lisa Corrado, a long-time resident of New Canaan, is the owner of Lisa Corrado Nutrition and author of a Moment in a Busy Life blog. Lisa never gave this salad too much thought until a recent trip that included Greece reminded her how yummy the combination of chopped fresh vegetables and salty olives & feta can be. This is also a great picnic recipe.
Greek Salad
Serves 4
3 large ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
½ English seedless cucumber, cut into chunks
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chunked
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
½ chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ pound good quality Greek feta cheese, cubed
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar (check label if you want gluten-free)
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
Combine first 7 ingredients (tomatoes through feta cheese) in a large bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour over salad and toss gently to coat. Download the printable Greek Salad PDF
