Chelsea Harrison5 Comments

Summer Corn Salad

Chelsea Harrison5 Comments
Summer Corn Salad

Whoa.  Summer is coming to a close and I haven't even shared one of my favorite summer dishes.  One reason I haven't posted this is that I've been distracted by weather.  I'll have plenty of time to work on the site when it's cold outside and I'm trapped indoors.  Right? But another reason is this nagging idea of perfection.  Sometimes I fall into a spiral of thinking that I should wait until I have higher quality photos, create more complex recipes, or find some other excuse not to post a recipe.  And what happens when I think like that is nothing.  I stop creating and I stop sharing.  It's time to overcome that idea of perfection and share with you all a recipe that is not elegant and complex, but simple and beautiful.  And the pictures may be low quality iPhone shots, but the important thing is to keep creating, keep sharing, and stop being so hard on myself.  I feel better already.

This recipe is incredibly simple to make, yet crazy delicious.  Whenever I make this, people ask for the recipe or beg me to make it again.  And while it's still summer, I am trying to take advantage of eating these delicious seasonal foods while I can.

The star of this recipe is fresh raw corn.  I have always loved the taste of raw corn.  It is sweet and juicy and not nearly as starchy as cooked corn.  I especially love putting it on vegetarian tacos. Such great texture and flavor!

But there is one major concern when it comes to corn: GMO's.  Almost all corn sold in the United States is genetically modified.  And currently there is no requirement that GMO products be labelled.  But there is hope for those of us who would rather trust Mother Nature than corporately funded scientists to grow our food.  Organic standards do not allow GMO's and some stores label their corn as non-GMO.  Consider your power as a consumer: every purchase you make is a vote in favor of or against GMO's.  Which way are you voting?

I found some beautiful red corn and mixed colors of cherry tomatoes that made for a beautiful rainbow of a dish.  But the yellow corn and red tomatoes taste just as good, so don't sweat it if you can't find red corn.  Just make sure you get non-GMO corn and get cooking before the summer vegetable season is over!

Ingredients:

2 ears of corn (non-GMO-we've talked about this)

1 avocado, diced

2/3 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup raw walnut pieces

juice of 1/2 a lemon

Salt and pepper to taste (about 1/8 tsp each)

1. Cut the corn kernels off the cob and place in a bowl with avocado, tomatoes, and walnuts.

2. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper and stir.

Chelsea Harrison6 Comments

Mediterranean Lentil Salad with Fresh Figs

This recipe came to me out of sheer chance.  Funny how sometimes I brainstorm to try to create a "perfect" recipe and it turns out just "ok." Other times the perfect recipe just presents itself to me and is better than anything I could have planned.  This is one of those perfect serendipitous recipes.

Lentils are a favorite of mine.  And if you are a vegetarian, I highly recommend you make yourself familiar with these bad boys.  Lentils are a great source of B-Vitamins and protein which many vegetarians are not getting enough of.  But on top of that, they are loaded with fiber.  Fiber is what keeps you full and what keeps your digestive system running smoothly.  If you are new to lentils try them in soups.  They add great texture to vegetable soups and lentil soups, such as Dal, are delicious and very affordable and easy to make.

Chelsea Harrison6 Comments
Mediterranean Lentil Salad with Fresh Figs
Chelsea Harrison7 Comments

Summer Basil Rolls

Last week my friend Alice asked me what I eat when I don't feel like cooking, haven't planned a recipe, or when the refrigerator is looking sparse.  Great question! On my journey toward a more natural slow food diet I used to eat really well until I hit speed bumps.  If I was really tired, didn't feel well, or simply wasn't inspired, I turned to takeout and processed foods.  I'd know that somewhere in the pantry I'd find a bag of zero-nutrition crackers with a scary-long shelf-life.  After eating I'd have even less energy than I had before.

Once I got to a point where I was buying almost no processed foods, eating like that simply stopped being an option.  Now when I don't feel up to cooking, the choices for foods I can grab and eat are fruits, veggies, or nuts.  And I often find that after a handful of cashews or an apple my energy comes back enough to prepare something substantial.

But I'm not always in the mood for twig-and-berries kinds of snacks, so I try to plan ahead for times when cooking isn't going to happen.  When I make a meal with a grain (quinoa, farro, rice, etc.), I make a double batch of the grains to keep on hand in the fridge.  And if I make soup, I always make more than I need so that I can refrigerate or freeze some.  My freezer is always stocked with fruit for smoothies and I love to make flourless seed and nut breads and keep them in the freezer as well.

Chelsea Harrison7 Comments
Summer Basil Rolls
Chelsea HarrisonComment

Fig and Turmeric Paradise Shake

I had just bought some amazing local raw honey and fresh non-homogenized milk when I thought of this recipe.  I wanted to make something that incorporated these two divine foods: milk and honey.  Being that it is Summer in Atlanta I chose to make a cool shake that is sweet and delicious enough to call a dessert yet healthy enough to be a breakfast.

I can't help but feel a sense of reverence about this recipe.  Milk, honey, turmeric, and figs are ancient foods frequently mentioned in religious writings.  The history associated with these foods gives them a sacred quality I had in mind when making this drink.

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Fig and Turmeric Paradise Shake
Chelsea Harrison12 Comments

Buckwheat Flatbread with Goat Cheese & Summer Squash

I could post a different zucchini recipe everyday for the rest of the summer.  I never tire of eating summer squash.  On these long summer days I hate to spend my time indoors, so I find myself sticking to simple recipes like this that I can pull together in thirty minutes.  And when the produce is as good as it is in the summer, it doesn't take much to make a delicious meal.

Chelsea Harrison12 Comments
Buckwheat Flatbread with Goat Cheese & Summer Squash
Chelsea Harrison3 Comments

Tomato Basil Farro with Summer Vegetable Stack & Pesto Drizzle

Last year at the Naked Fig Dinner Party I made this Tomato Basil Farro and topped it with a Summer Vegetable Stack and Fresh Pesto Sauce. I meant to share the recipe with you then, but summer came to an end and the produce was no longer available. So before another summer fades away, I want to share this simple and delicious recipe. It is so easy to make, but the presentation will make people think you worked all day on it. And it is vegan too!

Chelsea Harrison3 Comments
Tomato Basil Farro with Summer Vegetable Stack & Pesto Drizzle