I've read that to be a good blogger you shouldn't wing it, that you must have a production schedule. This has proven to be especially true for Tea and Fog because I have to juggle both the schedule of posting and the schedule of actually cooking recipes, sometimes recipe testing multiple times until I get it right. As someone with a full time job that is not food blogging, I have to treat my production calendar as a bible if I want to keep to a two posts per week schedule (that no one is holding me to but I.can't.stop.). These days that means looking three months ahead to make sure I have a plan for every post, or cooking way too many recipes on a weekend in preparation for a few weeks of work travel.
But sometimes, it's still nice to be a little spontaneous! As I type this on a keyboard sticky from this past Saturday's rigidly planned cooking marathon, I'm feeling a little proud that this particular recipe wasn't planned in advance, that I basically just threw some ingredients together the other night, took a bite, and then did whatever the eating equivalent is of a double take. Because without any thought other than, "Hmm, this sounds like it might be good together," I cobbled together a non-recipe that is one of the best things I've tasted in a while.
Is this a salad? Or is it a salsa? Or is it maybe a sort of guacamole? I don't really know, because I suppose you could eat it as any of those things, but I ate it with a spoon, so I'm going to call it a salad.
However it's called, it's definitely good, with sweet, crisp raw corn kernels and chunks of avocado tossed with lime zest, lime juice, and a bit of cotija cheese, then finished with some fresh chives and a hit sea salt and black pepper. You will not find a simpler side dish for these last weeks of summer, when corn is abundant and perfect enough to eat as is, no cooking required.
Raw Corn & Avocado Salad
- 2 ears of corn, shucked
- 2 avocados, cut in half and pitted
- 1 lime
- a small bit of cotija cheese
- a handful of fresh chives
- sea salt and black pepper, to taste
- Cut the kernels off of the corn and transfer to a bowl. Spoon out the flesh of each avocado and cut into chunks, then add to the bowl with the corn.
- Zest and juice the lime and add to the corn and avocado, then crumble in the cheese into the mixture.
- Mince the chives and add to the bowl, then season with salt and pepper and toss. Adjust seasoning as needed and serve.