Elotes Corn Salad – lazy way

I know, I never post anything anymore. See what having a kid will do to you? But I wanted to get this written down because I keep making it!

Based heavily on Elotes Corn Salad by fiveandspice.com, but with some lazy person’s changes. Mainly, buying “fire roasted” corn, which is apparently a thing, and is SO good. (I have seen it at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.) It is like you grilled corn on the cob, cut it off, and then froze it. Which maybe someone did, but that someone wasn’t me.

Elotes Salad (serves 4)

• One bag of “fire roasted” frozen corn
• 1 lime (juiced)
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 3/4 tsp chili powder
• a pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup of crumbled Cotija cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (make sure it’s not parsley… not that this has ever happened to me…)
• salt and pepper
• 1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and cut into chunks

1. Microwave the corn per bag instructions.
2. Add salt, pepper, mayo, lime juice, chili, and cayenne.
3. Fold in cheese and cilantro.
4. Salt and pepper to taste.
   (If you’re preparing ahead of time, like, say, for your coworker’s babyshower the next day, pause here. If not, march onward.)
5. Stir in the avocado chunks.

Serve warm, cold, over tortillas, over the bowl with a spoon after your kid is asleep… I love this stuff.

Easy Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

• 4 cucumbers
• 1/2 or 1 whole white or sweet onion
• 1.5 cups white vinegar
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon dried dill (or more, to taste)
• kosher salt

1. Prep the cucumbers and onion: Wash and peel the cucumbers (I like to be lazy and leave strips of cucumber skin, also because I think it’s prettier at the end). Slice thinly, using a mandolin if you want to be a perfectionist about it (just watch your fingers!). Ditto the onion. Set the cucumbers and onion in a colander, sprinkle liberally with salt, toss, add more salt, toss, etc. Put the colander in a bowl and set that in the fridge for about an hour to take some of the water out of the cucumbers and reduce the bite of the onion.

Wait one hour.

2. Prep the pickling. In a pot on the stove, combine the white vinegar, water, and sugar. Bring to a bowl and stir to ensure all the sugar has dissolved. Dump the cucumber and onions into a pyrex bowl (or similar — I like to discard the cucumber water run off and just use that same bowl for this next step) and pour the boiling pickling mixture on top of it. Add dill and stir to combine.

3. Let sit at least 3 (and up to 24 hours). Serve.

In summary: Easy, plus very refreshing and light — a nice thing to bring to a potluck or party where there will be a lot of heavy food. Theoretically you could even quarter the cucumber slices to make it even easier to eat, but that doesn’t bother me!

My lunch was delicious and so can you.

Last night I decided that I wanted something delicious for dinner and then lunch today. And my friends, I succeeded.

Mediterranean Veggie Bowl with Quinoa (a soul-satisfying lunch!)

(If you want chicken, either start cooking the chicken first or buy some pre-cooked chicken.)

1. SET UP QUINOA: Measure out one cup of quinoa. Rinse under water in a strainer, then add to a pot with a glug of olive oil. Cook for a couple minutes until the water evaporates and the quinoa starts toasting. Then add two cups of veggie broth, or water if you are lame. Bring to a boil, reduce to low, and cover. Set your kitchen timer for 15 minutes.

2. MAKE HOUSE SMELL TASTY: Chop an onion. Add to a pan with a glug of olive oil. Add salt & pepper. Add some dried oregano that you once bought to put on pizza but otherwise forget to use. Add some red chili pepper flakes because, like cheese (more on that in a minute), they make everything better.

3. ACTUALLY MAKE THE FOOD: Saute your onions periodically while you chop up one zucchini. (Even though zucchini is boring and gets excessive in the summertime, I had a weird craving for it last night.) Once the onions are glassy, add the zucchini. Saute periodically while you also chop up a small container of pitted kalamata olives (a small container by which I mean when you go to the deli they have two sizes, small and large — you want the small). Add the kalamata olives to the pan. Keep sauteeing while you also chop up a bunch of feta cheese. (If you are more lazy, the pre-crumbled stuff works well.) I got about a fist-sized block and used about half. Each to their own.

4. PUT THE FOOD IN TOGETHERNESS: Once the zucchinis are soft, the dish should be done. Make sure your quinoa has no more water, and then mix it all together in tastiness. Show it off to your wife when she gets home. Eat it for lunch the next day and revel in your culinary success.

Tabbouleh

The secret to good tabbouleh is very simple: don’t cook the bulgar. What’s the catch? You have to make it 24 hours in advance. The bulgar marinates in the juices of everything else, making for an especially flavorful dish.

Every time I make this recipe, I’m convinced it will fail: the bulgar won’t open up, I won’t have this dish, tragedy will ensue, etc. Every time, it is absolutely delicious.

Credit to my mom for teaching me this one.

Recipe for Tabbouleh

Quick & Easy Chickpea Salad

(Amounts are equal to three gallons (feeds about 40-50); adjust to your party’s size!)

6 cucumbers, peeled & chopped

4 cans black olives, sliced

4 large cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 large container of crumbled feta (optional)

Mix all ingredients together, add salt and pepper, then drizzle olive oil & balsamic vinegar to taste. If preparing in advance, chop everything but keep it separate until just before the event.