Summer Fresh Corn Side Dishes

Summer is a great time to either cook as little indoors as possible or avoid cooking all together. It is also a great time to incorporate summer fresh vegetables into the diet. Below are two tasty and easy recipes with a summer favorite -- corn -- as the base. Corn is a great summer option, since it is often readily available at bargain prices and is often sweeter and tastier in the summer months.

The first recipe requires no cooking and for convenience sake, I used frozen corn instead of fresh. Fresh corn can be substituted if desired, by cooking three to four ears of corn, cutting off the kernels and allowing it to cool before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.

The second recipe was inspired by my time living in India, where street vendors hawked piping hot corn, cooked over charcoal. It was a favorite afternoon snack for our entire family. My recipe is a twist on the Indian favorite, using ingredients easily found in the U.S. and relying on the convenience of aluminum foil to keep the corn from burning while grilling and to lock in the flavor of the butter, spices and limes.

Corn and Black Bean Salad

1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1/4 medium red onion, peeled and diced
12 fresh cherry tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2" chunks
1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. lime juice
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
lettuce leaves for garnish

Combine corn, black beans, jalapeno pepper, red onion, tomatoes, avocado and cilantro.

Mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and spices.

Stir the oil mixture into the corn and bean mixture and chill for at least 30 minutes. Serve on lettuce leaves.

Serves 4

Indian-Style Grilled Corn on the Cob

4 fresh ears of corn, husked
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
4 limes, quartered

Boil the corn for 10 minutes. Drain.

Mix the butter, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and ground cumin together. Spread equal amounts of the butter mixture on the four ears of corn.

Place each ear of corn on a square of heavy duty aluminum foil. Place four lime wedges around each ear of corn and then wrap the corn and limes up in the foil.

Grill over medium low heat for about 10 minutes to finish the cooking process. Once the limes have cooled enough to handle, squeeze lime juice on the corn for additional flavor.

Serves 4