Corn and Zucchini Salad

To me, nothing says summer quite like corn on the cob. Growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, there used to be a farm by my parent’s house called Korpaks Corn. The streets leading to my parent’s house were lined with what seemed like miles and miles of their corn stalks. When the summer months finally arrived, we would hop in the car and drive a few miles down the road to the stand where they sold all sorts of goodies…doughnuts, candy apples and, best of all, the sweetest corn I’ve ever had.

Nowadays, I usually cover my corn on the cob with butter salt and pepper. However, Korpaks Corn didn’t need any of these additional ingredients to make it taste delicious. Without the use of butter, salt and pepper the flavor of the corn would just explode in my mouth. Fresh, sweet corn picked right down the street from our house…now that was summer.

Unfortunately, a housing development company invaded our quaint and quiet suburban area and did away with all of the beautiful stalks of corn and replaced them with subdivision after subdivision. There is still one part of the road that is undeveloped and whenever I visit my parent’s house I always look out onto the field and remember just how amazing that corn truly was.

Because of my love for corn on the cob, I almost always leave the grocery store with a bundle of corn. Even though, in my opinion, nothing really beats corn on the cob, I’m always trying to think of different ways to serve this delicious summer vegetable. Recently, I had a little fun with items I had in my refrigerator and cupboard and came up with this tasty dish that screams summer.

Corn and Zucchini Taco Salad

Ingredients:

• One large zucchini, chopped
• One large yellow squash, chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• One can of sweet corn, drained
• 2 tablespoons Ranch seasoning mix
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Saute zucchini and yellow squash using the extra virgin olive oil for 10 minutes or until slightly softened.
2. Pour one can of corn into the pan and stir into the vegetable mixture.
3. Sprinkle the Ranch seasoning mix and taco seasoning mix over the vegetables and stir to coat.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste and heat all vegetables for 2-5 minutes or until warm.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy corn during the warmer months?