Corn & Cucumber Salad with Fresh Blueberries ♥

Today's summer salad recipe: An intriguing blend of corn (for sweetness), cucumber (for bulk) and blueberries (for tart) in a vinaigrette spiked with a little cumin, which adds just the right amount of underlying smokiness. Not just vegan, "Vegan Done Real".

What a difference a single ingredient can make! I made this salad a few weeks back, making what I thought was a "safe substitute": inexpensive blackberries for expensive blueberries. The texture was right, the size was right, the color was right but with blackberries? The salad underwhelms.

Then, laden with more blackberries and peaches than was prudent for someone leaving on vacation in a few days, I was chatting up a woman in the pay-up line out at Wind Ridge Farm not far outside St. Louis. She'd arrived early and clutched several quarts of blueberries. Masking my blueberry-envy, I asked her plans for them. First, she said, she'd make her favorite corn and blueberry salad, then ticked off all the ingredients you see here.

So I tried again, even if dubious corn and blueberries would be any more magical than corn and blackberries. They are, they really are.

OH. And for anyone else smitten with the cumin and fruit combination, here are three other recipes where the pair have really worked, Mâche with Orange Cumin Dressing, Broiled Grapefruit and Mexican Fruit Salad.

RECIPE for CORN & CUCUMBER SALAD with FRESH BLUEBERRIES

Hands-on time: 40 minutes
Time to table: 24 hours
Makes 6 cups

CORN
6 ears fresh sweet corn, husked

DRESSING
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon agave (or honey if vegan isn't important)
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin (don't skip or skimp here)
Salt & pepper to taste

SALAD
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 minced tablespoon jalapeño
1 cup fresh blueberries

CORN Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Shuck the corn and rinse the ears under running water. Drop into boiling water and cook, covered, for about 5 minutes. Lift ears from water and let cool a bit. Using a sharp knife, cut the kernels off the cob in wide swaths.

DRESSING Whisk together dressing ingredients in a large bowl.

SALAD Turn cooked corn and all salad ingredients EXCEPT the blueberries into the dressing. Add blueberries and stir gently so not to bruise the berries.

REFRIGERATE Cover and refrigerate for about 24 hours for the flavors to meld.

ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
Much to my surprise, this salad held really well for several days without getting the least bit mushy.
For sheer color contrast, choose all bright-yellow corn rather than pale yellow or a white-yellow mix.

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per 1/2 cup: 60 Calories; 2g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 6mg Sodium; 12g Carb; 2g Fiber; 4g Sugar; 2g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 1, PointsPlus 2

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KITCHEN PARADE, my food column THIS WEEK
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ST LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, my restaurant-recipe column THIS WEEK
Summer Blend Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette from 54th Street Grill

EAT VEGETABLES IN SEASON: THIS WEEK, 2005 - 2011
No-Cook Tabbouleh Eggplant Sandwiches with Cilantro Hummus Summer Orzo with Radicchio Chipotle Chickpea Salad BLTs with Avocado King Hill Farms Simple & Sublime Beets (<<< this week's beet-lover's favorite!) Amaranth Greens More Matters: The New Fruits & Veggies Campaign Grilled Eggplant with Balsamic Honey Syrup Romano Beans in Butter-Braised Garlic Seared Radicchio Weight Watchers Italian Zero Points Soup Tomato & Onion Salad Stuffed Peppers Sautéed Cucumbers How to Cut Corn Off the Cob: Keeping All Ten Fingers, Capturing Every Delicious Kernel and Every Drop of Sweet Corn 'Milk'

MORE FAVORITE CORN RECIPES
~ Raw Corn Chowder ~
~ Cooler Corn - How to Cook Corn in a Beer Cooler ~
~ Grilled Sweet Corn (in the Husks) with Spiced Lime Butter ~
~ Warm Tomato, Corn & Okra Salad ~
~ more corn recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Fresh Creamed Corn ~
~ Creamy Ricotta with Tomato-Cucumber-Corn Salad ~
~ Sweet-Corn Soup with Shrimp ~
~ more corn recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade

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famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.
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