Weeknight Favorites with Local Ingredients

This past week I ventured out into downtown Delaware for some local flavor to add to my homemade meals. First stop was the Delaware County Community Market where local vendors sell their product to members and part of the proceeds of the purchase support local non-profit agencies! Here, I bought fresh corn, grape tomatoes, and a jalapeno pepper. They also sell handmade goods such as pot holders, coasters, jewelry and canned jams or spreads. A small deli counter has daily specials and they can whip you up a nice little lunch during the week!

On Saturday, my mom and I checked out the Delaware Farmer's Market and let me tell you, there was a ton of fresh produce! Right from the farm with excellent prices! I have never tasted such fresh, sweet corn as I have from these stands. So, we picked up a dozen ears of corn, yellow bell peppers, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, another jalapeno, and red onions. All of these ingredients were used in my new August favorite - Corn Salad!

Ryan and I were invited to a "Favorites" party on August 18th and for the theme, we were to bring our own favorite drink or food. I previewed the recipes for Ryan earlier in the week before bringing them to the party, but these are what I ended up preparing:

 Weeknight Guacamole 
   2-3 ripened avocados
   1 bunch of green onions - thinly sliced and then finely chopped
   1 lime-
   1 clove of garlic - minced
   2-3 pinches of Kosher salt

Mash the avocados, add the green onions and garlic. Juice 1/2 of the lime, and taste for preference. I usually add juice from the second half, but I love lime! Once you've added the lime juice, salt to your taste! So yummy!

August Corn Salad 
   1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
   1/4 cup of sugar
   1/4 tsp salt
   1/4 tsp of fresh ground pepper
         **Combine above ingredients until sugar dissolves and allow to sit during preparation of the corn salad. This will be the dressing.

   3-4 ears of fresh corn, raw, steamed or blanched
   1/2 red onion chopped
   1 yellow bell pepper chopped
   1 jalapeno finely chopped
   3/4 package of grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered
   1/4 cup of basil leaves torn into little pieces
   Argulula lettuce (optional in my opinion)

Combine all of the vegetables listed above, thread in the arugula as desired, add the dressing (I only add about 1/2 of the mixture) and serve immediately! Leftovers become a bit soggy, so plan on eating it all in one night. This will serve about 3-4 people.

These side dishes were both well liked at the favorites party, and they are pretty easy to make. I loved using the fresh, local ingredients-especially the corn! I hope these dishes make it to your table this August!

Until next time,
Christen