Penguin Teaboy

OMG this is too cute! I want one :)
Penguin Teaboy

Links

Imcooked.com is a video community site for sharing recipes.

Watch Waz and Lenny cook at Crash Test Kitchen.

Christopher Walken Cooks

Farmer's Market Cravings

This week my goal is to try to hit one of the area farmer's markets. I want fresh locally grown produce. I want real food. Recently I've been working such long and crazy hours that real food has been more fast food than anything else. And by fast food I don't mean just burgers and fries.

Depending on what I find at the farmer's markets, I might have to scour up some recipes. Thing is, I'm not sure what I'll find so looking now for them is sort of counter-productive, in a way. But I'm craving that freshness you really can't find at the supermarkets. And "cooking" would take that away. Maybe more salad type recipes is what I want to help emphasize the freshness.

Sadness too as apparently I'm not good enough to be posted to tastespotting. :(
Oh well.

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

One supermarket near where I work has a decently large take-out section for the working folk in the area. One item that I was drawn to try was their corn and black bean salsa. And I was glad for it as it was very tasty. So tasty in fact that it inspired me to try to make my own creation.

Since it's corn season, I decided to try this with fresh, sweet corn on the cob. It added a perfect sweet balance to the concoction. When corn is not in season, I'd think you could get the same results with canned or frozen corn.

I figured I'd start out simple and if that was successful, in the future I could experiment to make it more fancy. Although, sometimes simple is good enough on its own.

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

1 15.5oz. can black beans
3 cobs of corn
1/2 red onion, diced
Canola oil
Olive oil
Vinegar
Oregano, dried
Kosher Salt
Pepper

1) Get a pot of water boiling. Add fresh corn cobs and cook for about 8-10 minutes.
2) When the corn is finished, take them out of the pot and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process, or you can place in an ice water bath.
3) Using a knife, cut off the corn kernels from the cob. (Be careful as they do have a tendency to bounce all over the place as you cut them from the cob.) Place in a mixing bowl.
4) Open can of black beans. Pour into colandar or something so you can rinse them off. (You don't want to have any of the liquid from the can on it as it's very starchy). Place in mixing bowl with the corn kernels.
5) Dice 1/2 a red onion and add to mixture.
6) Start by adding about 3 TBSP canola oil (this is approximate, I didn't measure the oil this time.) Stir to coat. Then add 1-2 TBSP olive oil until the entire mixture is well coated.
7) Add about 1 TBSP, or slightly less, vinegar. Stir to combine.
8) Season with about 1 TBSP dried oregano, salt and pepper to taste.
9) Mix to combine.
10) Use immediately or cover and put in fridge to allow flavors to mingle.



I ate this right away, but am looking forward to see how it tastes after the flavors have had chance to mingle together. I'm guessing it will be even more fantastic.

Another way to cook the corn would be to throw it on the grill for a bit. And I'm sure that would be fabulous too, giving it a bit of smokey flavor. Also try adding some fresh parsley and cilantro into the mix, which I would have done if I had some on hand. And perhaps a bit of garlic would be good, since that always makes things even more tasty.

Try this on tacos, on grilled meats, or alone as a side. Your imagination is the limit. :D

mmmm beer!

Beer Cupcakes!!!
(via tastespotting.com)

Blueberries

ApartmentTherapy has a nice spotlight on blueberries. Yum!