Heirlooms in the Air…

Tomatoes that is. If I could somehow find a way to transmit the INCREDIBLE smell wafting from my kitchen so that readers could experience it… Sigh, but I can’t so I’ll just tell you about tonight’s dinner.

I’m not going to lie, I have a love-hate relationship with corn on the cob. I LOVE the way it tastes, I just don’t enjoy any other part of it. I don’t enjoy the husking, cooking (too many burned fingers), or even eating it off the cob. Back in the day, when I had a mouth full of braces, this was completely impossible. For one, I risked breaking a bracket and setting my parents back the cost of a replacement and fix. Secondly, and perhaps more important to my 7th grade self, it was highly likely I’d get corn stuck in my braces and have to excuse myself to the bathroom to pluck it out with my special wire toothbrush. WAY too much effort. But back to the part where I LOVE corn…

I do enjoy it tremendously. I like it in fresh salsas, in my burritos and even by itself (when either cut off the cob for me or yes, even frozen). I don’t even mind it canned, nope, I really don’t. So when I picked up a can at Trader Joe’s today and recalled a bag of frozen white corn in the freezer, I set my mind to work deciding what I’d do with it. Then, I spotted the heirloom tomatoes… they were just sitting there in the midst of all the other tomatoes, looking beautiful and ready to jump into my basket. Come home pretty little tomatoes.

Then I thought, hmmm, what about a salad with corn and the heirloom tomatoes? Oh and some green onions and garlic? I was salivating right there in Trader Joe’s. What? Feta, too? YES.

I will admit that I did have inspiration from other bloggers and recipe sites. I know that the idea of a tomato and corn salad with or without feta is not something my little mind invented. But here is my version:

Note: I didn’t really use any formal measurements, so if you decide to recreate it, I invite you to use the quantities you would like.

Heirloom Corn Feta Onion Salad

1 can yellow whole kernel sweet corn, drained

cup or so of white corn (thawed if previously frozen)

2 chopped bunches of green onion

1 tbsp chopped garlic

2 tbsp butter or butter flavored spread (I used Brummel & Brown… I love that stuff)

Crumbled feta

Extra Virgin Olive Oil   (I used Gustare’s Persian Lime EVOO… you can use regular EVOO and add lime juice if you wish)

Directions: Heat olive oil in pan with medium-high heat. Add butter. When melted and olive oil/butter starts to bubble slightly add corn. Move it around in the pan for a few minutes, add green onions and garlic. Continue to move it all around in the pan. Note: always be careful with hot oil! If it starts to spit, turn it down. Remove from heat. When cooled a bit, put in heat-safe bowl in the refrigerator. While that’s cooling, cut tomatoes in half. I used about 1.5 cups but that can be increased or decreased. Remove corn from refrigerator, add tomatoes and feta. Season with salt and pepper if you wish. Mix with a spoon and serve.

I had my still slightly warm but that’s because it smelled too good for me to wait. I did let the whole salad chill for a bit while I cooked up some spicy chicken sausages to have with it. What a fabulous, fresh Sunday night dinner! Now I plan on enjoying the rest of my Sunday evening by relaxing on the couch with Griffy and possibly catching the premiere of Shark Week. Night!