When I'm deciding what to make for dinner, the first place I head is the produce section of my local market. Checking out what's new, what's fresh, and what's in season is always inspiring. And last night, I saw so many fruits and vegetables in that category I was tempted to buy one of everything.
We're at this rare point in between summer and spring seasons where there's just so much available. Tomatoes, avocados, and corn are at the tail end of their seasons. Meanwhile,
peaches, plums, and nectarines are coming in, as well as
berries and melons. Cucumbers are at their prime too. Seeing all this
in person, I had to forgo a complex dish and just make a salad with as
many great flavors as I could.
What I ended up with was this Cobb salad, minus the meat.
I steamed two heads of sweet Florida corn, just about the last of the
season. Along with that, I cooked four organic, cage-free eggs (ever
steam an egg? it's easy). After I cut the corn from the cob, the rest
was just slicing vegetables: Sweet, ripe avocado. Peppery red onion.
Cool, firm cucumber. Some juicy, bright red vine tomatoes. For a little
bit more substance, I tossed on a few slices of creamy-sweet Italian
Gorgonzola.
To dress my salad, I decided to keep the theme light and fresh. I got
an eight-ounce package of plain yogurt and kicked it up with a little
fresh minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and a handful of dill. To
add a bit of heat and flavor, I minced up half a Scotch bonnet pepper
and tossed that in. The dressing was killer.
With the summer boon coming in and spring vegetables at their tail end, now's a great time to eat fresh like this.
