Summahtime: Corn Salad with Bacon and Green Onions

This was a dynamo of a side dish that I'll most certainly be making many times throughout the month of August. It's corn season in these parts, and I find it hard to walk past hefty, luscious looking corn on the cob without buying some. And it's always priced for five cobs or whatever, and of course that means that I MUST buy five instead of buying, say, two cobs, which would be a much more reasonable number based on the number of people in my household. But no matter, one can never have too much corn when one lives in Ontario and one likes to enjoy the summer's bounty.

Summer in a saute pan.

So, say you gots lots of corn and you want to do something different. Not because you need to, but because you want to. You could do the whole mayonnaise and parmesan treatment, as I've written about before. It's ridiculously good. We've busted that one out already this summer. Or you could incorporate bacon, which is very rarely a bad thing, and go this route. It's a little ditty that will not disappoint.

Corn Salad with Bacon and Green Onions

2 big fat cobs of corn

2 slices of bacon, cut into a small dice

2 green onions, sliced thinly

Butter, just a wee pat

A handful of halved cherry tomatoes

A small handful of chopped cilantro

Salt and pepper to taste

Saute the bacon in a large frying pan on medium to medium-high heat - you want the pan hot enough to really crisp up the bacon. During the time that the bacon is coming to its crucial crispy point, slice the corn off two cobs. The easiest way to do this is to stand your ear of corn up on a cutting board or similar and slice down on each side of the cob. I usually do the bottom half first, then flip the ear and repeat.  It seems to minimize the amount of corn clean up. I've recently seen a plethora of tips and tricks on various food websites about how to cut corn off a cob without making a mess. I guess if the way you cut corn off a cob results in corn everywhere, you should check those out. I, for one, am probably not going to change my method to save seven kernels. But you should do what you want. Anyway, put your corn into the pan with the bacon, and then add your sliced green onions. Stir everything around and add salt and pepper to taste. Saute for about five minutes, and then add the halved cherry tomatoes and the cilantro, and stir those in well. Let it go for a few more minutes, and you're done! Oh wait, not quite! At the very end you should add that little pat of butter. It will make you and everyone who eats it happy, trust.

Corn, plated.
Also, people should eat more drumsticks. 

Serves two as a side dish. Or, you could put it all in a big ol' bowl and sit on your porch and eat it and not share a single kernel. 

Turkey Burgers with Mango and Curry: Punched-up Poultry.

Turkey Burgahs. Delicious, healthy, tricked out with mango and curry paste, and a big hit of cilantro – elements that are all incorporated directly into the meat. In the winter, I make this exact same mixture and slam it into a loaf pan for turkey meatloaf. So this is a multi-seasonal winner. You probably won't need the whole mango for this recipe – so I instruct you to eat the rest of the mango over the sink.

Mango still-life, No.1.

Mangos are one of the best things in all of life. I spent an entire summer eating mostly mangos and potatoes once, and working at Tilley Endurables at the mall at Queen's Quay in Toronto. I lived across the street from a fruit market, and I had no money - so for some reason I fixated on mangos and potatoes. And also I had to wear a ridiculous Tilley outfit at work that included pleated, high-waisted khakis and a tucked in t-shirt blousey thing. Not hot. At all. Anyway.

Don't be alarmed at bun to burger ratio.
It wasn't as bad as it seems.

So, turkey burgers. I topped these with avocado, which was a really welcome addition. Don't muck them up with many other toppings, as there's a lot going on in the burger, and things can get confusing. Don't let that happen to you and your delicious dinner.


Turkey Burgers with Mango and Curry

a pound of ground turkey (or chicken, or in a pinch I've also used pork)
about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups diced mango (I use a regular ol' potato peeler to peel my mangos, and then cut chunks off around the pit, then dice)
1 medium onion, diced
2 tbsp of hot curry paste (feel free to use medium or mild paste if you want to cut down on the heat factor - I like Patak's brand)
1 cup of chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp canola oil for frying onions and mango, 1tbsp for frying burgers (you can use any neutral oil here, or even olive oil I GUESS, if you must. I've been told I need to stop being so hard on olive oil)
sliced avocado, to top the burgers
squeeze of fresh lime juice, squeezed on burger just before burger enters mouth

Fry your diced onion and mango in a pan with the canola oil, for about 5 minutes, until the onion becomes translucent and the mango softens up a fair bit. Then add your curry paste, and salt and pepper. Cook the curry paste with the mango and onion for about another fiver. Remove from the pan and allow it to cool. Once it's cooled, add it to a bowl where you've already placed the ground turkey. Add in the cilantro. Mix it up well – this is a good time to use the tools that come attached to you, i.e. your hands. They're the most effective. Don't over-mix. Form into four burger patties. Now is the time to slam it into a loaf pan (or free-form a loaf-ish shape on a sheet pan) if you want to go the meatloaf route. I cooked the burgers over medium heat in a cast iron skillet, but obviously grilling these on the barbecue would be an excellent option. For some reason I don't own a barbecue. Well it's because I haven't bought one. Weird how that works.

Summer, meet plate.

These babies are a little tender, so handle them with care. There's no filler in these burgers, like breadcrumbs and/or an egg, so the meat is a little more fragile. To combat this, I put them in the fridge for about 15 minutes before frying. It just makes them stay together a little bit better. Also, watch it with the flipping. Do it as little as possible. I found the burgers took about 20-25 minutes to cook in the pan.

Serves 4.

Ceviche: Stupid Easy. For Realsies.

This might be the easiest thing you will ever make in your whole life. Full stop. This recipe actually cannot be screwed up, try as one might. Guaranteed summer supper star. One of the nicest things about this dish is that you can make it with any kind of fish or shellfish (almost - don't use salmon), and with any kind of citrus - lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit even. Grapefruit is actually quite friggin' delicious in this dish.

I like to serve my ceviche with tortilla chips. But this is not required.

And it's weird science:  you don't have to cook the fish – the acid in the citrus breaks down the proteins so that the fish takes on the texture of having been cooked. It's a perfect light lunch or dinner on one of those blistering hot days when the thought of turning on the oven makes you want to jump off a bridge. It's also a great adaptable dish in terms of servings as well:  works just as well for one as it does for a crowd. The recipe below is a good amount for a shareable appetizer for between 4 and 6 people.

This doesn't suck.

Ceviche

1 1/2 - 2 pounds of fish or shellfish (When I made this for my friend Jason's birthday dinner yesterday, I used scallops, shrimp, and a filet of cod; calamari is also great, as are haddock, halibut, red snapper, even octopus!  Get crazy. It's important that you use fresh fish, but frozen – defrosted, raw – shellfish is okay.)
Juice of two limes
Juice of one lemon (you could replace this with the juice of one grapefruit)
1 jalapeno pepper or other chile, minced (you can add more or less, based on how spicy you like it)
a big handful of chopped cilantro
Half a red onion, sliced as thin as possible
Salt (start with a half-teaspoon or so, but taste before serving to see if you need more)
1 avocado diced
Tortilla chips, for serving

Cut up all the fish and shellfish into a size that will make it land nicely on a tortilla chip. Basically, dice it up. Add all of your citrus, jalapeno, cilantro, red onion, and salt. Mix it up well, and put it in the fridge. The total time it will need to sit is about one to two hours, or a shorter time if you're making it for one. Stir it a few times during its stay in the fridge. You'll actually be able to see the fish cooking in the acid – it will start to turn white and opaque, and take on the appearance of having been cooked.

Once it looks (and tastes) to be 'cooked', stir in your diced avocado and taste to see if it needs more salt, adding if necessary. Serve with the tortilla chips.

This is really delicious, light and fresh and punchy and the perfect summer food, in my opinion.