Grilled Corn-and-Butter Bean Salad—love it, love it!

When I saw the recipe for Grilled Corn-and-Butterbean Salad, I had to try it because of my Aunt Frances’ stories about canning butter beans from her victory garden during World War II.

In my cookbook, Way Back in the Country Garden, I share Aunt Frances’s recollections about working for hours alongside her friend Olive as they put up vast amounts of fresh butter beans from the garden Uncle Herbert planted. 

I’m not sure how many helpings of butter beans I’ve consumed in my lifetime; we certainly never have planted any to grow in our garden. But the recipe said using frozen ones would be OK, so Hubby picked some up from the store for me and I plowed ahead. I had the requisite corn left over from the Mexican-Style Grilled Corn that I blogged about last week.

This was a most unusual and enjoyable salad that got better as it aged. (No wonder the recipe said you could store it in the refrigerator up to three days. At three days of life it was still going strong in terms of flavor.)

Red onion, red bell pepper, chopped fresh basil, and halved grape tomatoes are some other infusions of freshness that made this little stir-up spring alive. The magazine featured this as a side dish for a fish fry. We served it as a main course with only a side of roasted potatoes added.

Grilled Corn-and-Butter Bean Salad

1 (16-ounce) package frozen butter beans (can also use fresh butter beans)

4 ears fresh corn, husks removed

1 large red onion, cut into thick slices

1 large red bell pepper, cut into thick rings

3/4 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 garlic clove, pressed

1 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 cup halved grape tomatoes

Cook butter beans according to package directions; drain and cool completely (about 20 minutes). Meanwhile preheat grill to 350 to 400 degrees (medium-high) heat. Grill corn, covered with grill lid, 15 minutes or until done. Turn every 4 to 5 minutes. At the same time grill onion and bell pepper, covered with grill lid, 5 minutes on each side or until tender. Cool all vegetables completely (about 20 minutes). Cut kernels from cobs. Discard cobs. Chop onion and bell pepper into 1/2-inch pieces. Stir together mayonnaise and next 5 ingredients. Stir in tomatoes, corn kernels, and onion and pepper pieces. Add salt or salt substitute to taste. Cover and chill 2 to 8 hours before you serve. Store in refrigerator up to 3 days. Makes 8 to 10 servings. (Source: Southern Living July 2012)

Way-cool fresh corn salad has cucumber addition

One main thing drew me to this “Chill-Out Corn Salad” recipe—the unusual combination of chopped cucumber with fresh corn. The fresh cuke would add to the “coolness” factor. It truly was a delightful flavor combination. 

If I’d had them on hand, I would have dumped in a small container of fresh pimientos or some chopped red Bell pepper, just because the bright red would have jazzed up the color. 

I can see this being a big covered-dish hit at a picnic—as a new take on the popular marinated vegetable salad covered-dish recipe. 

We thought it was plenty “cool”.

Chill-Out Corn Salad

1/4 cup oil

2 teaspoons sugar substitute

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 ears fresh corn, steamed and cut from cob (or 2 15.25-ounce cans low-sodiium corn, drained and rinsed)

1/2 cup chopped green Bell pepper

1 cup chopped celery

2 cups chopped cucumber

1 cup chopped onion

black pepper to taste

In a medium bowl whisk oil, sugar substitute, salt, and red wine vinegar. Add vegetables and toss. Chill in the refrigerator; then serve. Makes 9 1/2-cup servings. (Source: Chickasaw Nation Nutrition Services)

Mexican corn salad great by itself or as a perk-up for chicken, other entrees

This is just a wonderful, summer, healthy side that’s great by itself or accompanying grilled chicken, steak, or fish. It’s colorful and full of flavor and tastes great served immediately or several days later after the flavors merge while in the fridge.

I received the recipe in my Kroger grocery circular and was pleased to have something so easy that tasted so good. I’ve gone from being a strict, to-the-last-jot-and-tittle recipe follower to becoming quite brave about deriving my own add-ins. I had some radishes left over from an earlier meal, so I finely chopped one of those to stir in as well. Personally I think that was the best addition of all. Plus, as you probably can see from the photo, I didn’t have any red onion on hand and thus subbed green onion tops and bottoms for the red. That worked well, too, in creating a great veggie melange.

The recipe appears to call for cutting the corn immediately from the cob and stirring it into the salad. I’m sure that would work just fine, but I whisked mine into the microwave and quickly steamed it for about two minutes just to get it a bit more tender. No problems there, either.

The first night I served it by itself; the second night it was a side for Fiesta Burgers (more on them tomorrow)—great both ways. In fact, you simply can’t go wrong however you choose to offer this simple, tasty salad.

Mexican Corn Salad

2 cups fresh corn kernels, cut from the cob

1/4 cup red pepper, diced

1/4 cup green pepper, diced

1 tomato, diced

2 tablespoons red onion, diced

1 large radish, finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon lime juice

1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients. Serve immediately (or chill until ready to serve). Refrigerate any leftovers. Makes 4 servings.

Just-right blend of sweet/tangy in this colorful, healthy salad that brightened our Fourth

A whole artillery of wonderful foods helped make our 4th star-spangled in every way. Difficult to know where to start, but Black Bean & Corn Salad certainly lit some fireworks among our taste buds. To Hubby and me this seemed to be the quintessential picnic salad. Those plump, almost candy-like tomatoes from the heart of our garden were right in the big middle of all the corn and black beans. Fresh, fresh, fresh!

Other items that contributed to the wonder that was this salad were red peppers, green onions, avocado, and cilantro. A lime-olive oil-garlic marinade in which the veggies bathed in the fridge overnight made just the right blend of slightly sweet/tangy. It was great with our slow-cooker chicken/sweet potato stew (more on this latter item in a later blog) that we carted with us to our place at the lake, but we also could envision it alongside burgers, grilled chicken, or other picnic fare.

The recipe for this enjoyable dish appeared among the pages of our Garland Messenger community newspaper. I simply was browsing through and mulling over hometown news when suddenly a colorful page of food dishes and their how-to’s appeared. After the weekend we spent experiencing Black Bean & Corn Salad, I certainly was thankful for that colorful page.

Black Bean & Corn Salad

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1/2 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels

1 avocado—peeled, pitted, and diced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

6 green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

In a small jar place lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt (or salt substitute), and cayenne pepper. Cover with lid; shake until ingredients are well mixed. In a salad bowl combine beans, corn, avocado, bell pepper, tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro. Shake lime dressing and pour it over the salad. Stir salad and refrigerate. Allow to marinate for several hours or overnight. Makes 10 servings.

Hairdresser-tested recipe for Mexican Salad a real bonanza of freshness

If you want to know something, ask a hairdresser.

For years I've lived by this maxim. Hairdressers are walking encyclopedias for all that lives and breathes. Their vast degree of social contact gives them, on a daily basis, access to more information than the average individual would collect in a lifetime of living.

Our daughter was fortunate to marry well in this regard. Not only did she get a special, devoted hubby, she also acquired a mother-in-law who is a hairstylist (and a very nice person, to boot). My daughter's hair always looks bandbox-perfect as a result of this fortunate connection.

Recently my daughter's mother-in-law shared with me this recipe for Mexican Salad; around the salon she'd picked up the instructions for this new dish. Wow, was I glad I knew a hairdresser after I tried this recipe! Debbie was absolutely correct in believing this one would be up my alley because of its fresh ingredients. With the fiber-ific properties of beans getting higher kudos by the day, this recipe has the double benefit of containing both black beans and blackeyed peas, with a little corn tossed in for added measure. Green onions, cilantro, tomatoes, and celery (the latter addition drawing a big smile from Hubby, since he's mad about celery these days) add to the health plusses of this flavorful mixture.

Letting the ingredients marinate for at least four hours (or better, overnight) is crucial to the success of this dish. Stirring it frequently to make sure all the liquid is mixed in is a must. Actually I ended up doubling the recipe for the marinade to be sure the dressing had enough moisture, but if I had been more vigilant about tossing it frequently, I probably didn't need to increase the liquid and could have stuck with what the recipe below specifies.

I garnished the finished product with a cut-up avocado and served it with tortilla chips. Hubby kept returning again and again for just a few more morsels of the salad. I was extremely thankful to have this hairdresser-tested recipe, which, as most women know, is just about the best recommendation a dish could have!

Mexican Salad

1 14-oz. package slaw

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1-2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can blackeyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 (12-15 ounce) bag frozen corn (or 2 cups fresh corn cut from the cob)

2-3 chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)

avocado for garnish, if desired

In a large bowl mix and toss the first nine ingredients. In a small saucepan mix vinegar and sugar; boil and let cool. Toss the dressing with the salad mixture. Allow to marinate for 4 hours or overnight. Garnish with avocado, if desired. Makes 8 servings.