Fiesta Corn Salad

This corn salad is made with just a few simple ingredients, but it tastes like a fiesta in your mouth. It's quick to make too - you can throw it together in under 5 minutes. Be sure to use fresh basil - dried basil just doesn't deliver the same flavor.

By the way, did you notice the size of the basil leaves in my salad? They are the itty bittiest things ever. It's a variety of basil called Boxwood Basil; very tiny leaves on a plant that grows like a boxwood bush; originating in France, it's prized for its wonderful flavor. I love it - found it at the garden center of my local Wal-Mart.

Fiesta Corn Salad

makes 4-6 servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cans sweet corn, drained

• 1 can black beans, drained

• 1 red bell pepper, diced

• 1/4 cup Italian dressing

• lots of chopped fresh basil

• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Toss ingredients together and serve.

Note

• Grilled fresh corn is an excellent substitute.

Oven Roasted Cauliflower, Onions, and Garlic

Yummy roasted cauliflower with onions and garlic. Oh my goodness is this a fantastic veggie dish. Sweet, garlicy, amazing!

I usually roast cauliflower with just a touch of olive oil, salt, and pepper, but I stumbled upon a slightly more interesting Emeril version that I tweaked to my family's liking and it was a hit - proven true by the fact that I had several teenagers sampling bite after bite as soon as I took these out of the oven.

Warning - if you make this dish, your house will be filled with the aroma of caramelized onions and garlic!

Start with a head of fresh cauliflower - chop it into smallish florets.

Time to add onions and garlic. My cauliflower was huge, so I used 5 cloves of garlic and 2 small onions.

I always chop the dried ends of the garlic cloves off - ick.

Chop the onions into large cubes. If your garlic cloves are large, cut them in half. Add onions and garlic to the cauliflower florets.

Time to make the flavorful dressing. It's simple - all you need is extra virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, Kosher salt, and ground pepper (recipe below).

Whisk, whisk, whisk.

Pour over vegetables and; toss to coat evenly.

Bake in a 400F oven for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes. The cauliflower will cook down quite a bit, but the flavor will be intense!

Oven Roasted Cauliflower, Onions, and Garlic

makes 6 servings

Printable recipe

ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets

• 3-5 cloves garlic, cut in half if large

• 1-2 small onions, cut into large cubes

• 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon pepper

• Optional Garnish - chopped parsley or chives, crushed red pepper flakes, or parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.

2. Place vegetables in a large casserole dish; toss with dressing.

3. Bake at 400F for about an hour, stirring every 10 minutes; garnish.