Sweet Corn on the Grill with Fresh & Fruity Salsa

It had been a rough day and I was actually thinking about getting some pizza instead of washing all the veggies on my delightful CSA pick-up day.  But then I saw the first ears of fresh corn for the season and I felt excited and renewed, happily washing the lettuce for one of my giant salads.

My favorite way to grill the corn is directly on the grill, without the husk.  It gets charred in places and tastes so nice and sweet.  Because we’re going out of town in a couple of days, we grilled all of the corn and I made mango salsa, a black bean & corn mixture for the salad, and then scraped some more corn to freeze for later.  Using grilled corn in soups adds a nice little crunch of smoky flavor.

Oh, wow, I hear you shouting: “Mango salsa?!  Recipe please!”  I had some mango left over from making mango pina coladas over the weekend (you can use mangoes instead of or in addition to pineapples), so I chopped up the mango slices into little cubes, diced ¼ onion, diced one jalapeno pepper, and added the kernels from about one ear of corn and half a can of black beans, the juice of one lime, a squirt of honey, some fresh cilantro (optional), plus salt and pepper.  I’ve made a similar variation with pineapple- it’s also delicious!

I love summer salads!  I took the rest of the black beans and mixed with an avocado, ½ onion, kernels of corn from two ears, diced jalapeno, and a squeeze of lemon.  I also added chipotle chili pepper, a dash of cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  We grilled zucchini and onions as well and threw all of these things on top of the lettuce.  Add your favorite Mexican dressing.  The only thing that could have made it better would have been some tomato, which we didn’t have this week. 

Having green beans frozen and waiting enhances fall and winter crock pot meals, but it’s always so difficult for me not to eat them immediately!  This time, our upcoming vacation made it easier for me to freeze the green beans for the future.  I snipped and washed them, just like I would if I were eating them right away, but then I laid them on paper towels to dry thoroughly before freezing.  Finally, I threw them into a gallon size freezer bag and tucked them away for the days I don’t want to think about - when I’ll be missing my fresh CSA veggies (and sunshine!)  With a smile, I realized that this little bit of summer will be waiting to cheer me- in minestrone soup, perhaps?