Summer’s sweet corn

There are many reasons why I craved the dinner we had tonight. One of these was the picnic I attended yesterday, where there were two different types of corn salad served –  a raw salad, with sprouted quinoa, and a mexican corn salad with tomatoes, cilantro, and mexican cheese. Our dinner tonight could have also resulted from a conversation I had yesterday with the raw corn salad’s creator who, because of chronic headaches since a young age, has chosen a raw diet. Dinner tonight could also have been influenced by a chat I had with my co-workers today about a quest for the best tacos in Philadelphia. Clearly the weather, hot and humid, also played a role as I never feel like eating heavy on a hot day. It was all of this in addition to me wanting to eat a protein-rich, meatless, colorful dinner on this hot summer night. How can you not crave food when it looks like this?

As I entered Sue’s Produce on 18th Street, I decided that my meal tonight would yet again consist of corn on the cob. I walked around with $7. 75 in my pocket (Sue’s is cash only) and I picked out some corn, tomatoes, limes, cilantro… as I did this the meal started to build itself. I checked out, $6.00 total. It was then I decided with my extra $1.75 I would buy a small red cabbage with which to make a corn salad of sorts; however, this salad would contain some extra ingredients I had around the house: a can of black beans, red onion, and a very ripe avocado.

I peeled the red cabbage very carefully and made taco shells with the leaves. The meal really was influenced by several instances over the past few days,  all of which contributed to my very healthy, light, flavorful dinner.

For my leftovers tomorrow, I chopped the remaining cabbage and tossed it with the salad along with the leftover avocado. It may even be better tomorrow because of all the ingredients spending the night in the lime marinade. I hope you too are enjoying the summer produce.