Corn, Tomato, and Cherry Salad

Have you ever had one of those days when you needed something, but you really didn’t want to go to the grocery store? Truth be told, I have those days all of the time. I absolutely hate to shop. If I can’t get it online, I don’t want to have to go out and get it, because I’m busy all the time, and hate to interrupt what I’m doing to run to the store.

Today was no different. I found myself without traditional salad fixings, and by this I mean lettuce. I panic when I run out of lettuce, which is why I buy so much of it when I go to the grocery store. Honestly, the checker must think I keep rabbits or something, because I buy a number of heads of iceberg lettuce, romaine, green and red leaf, one of those packages of organic greens, you name it, it goes into my cart. Like my dad, I have a salad every day. I love salad, and a day just doesn’t seem right without having one.

Today it’s hot, humid, and I don’t want to go out, so I was rummaging around in the fridge trying to come up with something that would resemble a salad. I went out into the garden, harvested four tomatoes this morning (a bumper crop!), as well as a cucumber. When I came inside, I started rummaging around to see what remains I had in the vegetable crisper. I pulled out part of a red onion, and an ear of corn. Then, I pulled out a package of dried cherries. You may question the cherries, but don’t, many a time a hint of sweetness will give something savory a lot of zing, and it did exactly that here. All of this sounded like it would either make a very interesting salad, or a bang up salsa, or what the heck? Both! I was right, it did.

This is an amazing combination of things that I happened to have on hand. I tossed it together with vinaigrette, and added some feta cheese. I’m not sure whether to eat it with a fork, or get out a bag of tortilla chips and dig in. Either way, it’s delicious!

Corn, Tomato, and Cherry Salad
Serves 1-2

1 ear corn, kernels removed
2 small tomatoes, seeded and diced
¼ cup diced red onion
1 cup diced cucumber
1 ripe avocado, diced
1 2-oz. pkg. Melissa’s Dried Tart Cherries
2 tablespoons feta cheese
Your favorite vinaigrette...or not

Toss all ingredients together and refrigerate for one hour to allow the flavors to meld. Serve it as a salad, or with chips as a salsa. You are going to love it!

PRINT RECIPE

Another delicious corn salad with a touch of sweetness is this Corn and Blueberry Salad.

This post is linked to:

Dream, Create, Inspire

Wonderful Wednesday

Whimsical Wednesdays

O My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday
Wine’d Down Wednesday

Thursday Favorite Things
Grace at Home

Create, Bake, Grow and Gather

This post contains affiliate links.

Fresh Peach and Tart Cherry Crumb Pie

I always tell people that I am not a pie person, because I truly believe that I’m not. But, in looking back over the blog, I see that I have more than a dozen pie recipes here, all of which I have eaten and enjoyed. So, perhaps I should change my catchphrase that pies are "the liver of desserts" to something else. It seems as though, much to my surprise, I have indeed become a pie person.

When peaches caught my eye at the local market, fresh from an area farm, I had to buy them. Peaches are one of my favorite fruits, and there’s nothing I like more than peach cobbler. When I got them home, I was thinking that instead of cobbler I would make a pie, because I know my dad prefers that, and I also knew that I would be taking him a big slice. I wanted to do something different, and as I was wondering that, my eyes fell upon a package of Melissa’s tart cherries. I was thinking how wonderful they would be in a peach pie. There amongst the juices, they would hydrate, and become plump and add a delicious tartness, as well as color and interest. I was right! This is a sumptuous pie, with a combination of ingredients you most likely have not run across before. It’s easy to put together, well, as easy as is any fruit pie, it is delicious warm, or cool, or for breakfast.

Fresh Peach and Tart Cherry Crumb Pie

1 crust for a 9” pie*

5 cups sliced peeled peaches

1 3-oz. pkg. Melissa’s Dried Tart Cherries

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon bourbon

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pinch of cardamom

¼ teaspoon salt

Topping:

1½ cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup light-brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of cardamom

1½ sticks chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate with crust; flute edges. Make topping by placing all topping ingredients into a food processor and pulse until mixture becomes crumbly.

Place the sliced peaches in a large bowl, and sprinkle with lemon juice and bourbon. Mix gently. Stir in dried cherries.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt. Pour over the peaches, and mix gently. Turn into the piecrust. Cover with crumb topping.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the crust is brown and the juice begins to bubble. If the top browns too quickly, cover with aluminum foil about halfway through baking. Cool before serving.

*I am not a crust snob. Make it, buy it, do what you like.

PRINT RECIPE

Plumberry Pie is another favorite that uses a simple crumb topping to enhance the delicious summer fruit inside.

This post is linked to:

Happiness is Homemade Sunday

What’s for Dinner Sunday

Dishing It & Digging It

Pink Saturday
Snickerdoodle Create Bake & Create

Best of the Weekend

This post contains affiliate links.