Avocado and Corn Salsa

yield: Makes 2 to 3 cups

A salsa this simple lives or dies by the quality of the ingredients—ripe avocado, luscious tomato, and a sweet, crunchy ear of corn. Most of my corn salsa recipes call for grilled corn. This one features the succulent crunch of raw corn to reinforce the sweetness of the fresh avocado. 

Ingredients

  • 1 ripe avocado, cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 ripe red tomato, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 1 ear sweet corn, shucked
  • 1 scallion, both white and green parts, trimmed and finely chopped, or 3 tablespoons diced sweet onion
  • 1 to 2 jalapeño peppers or serrano peppers, seeded and minced (for a hotter salsa, leave the seeds in)
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Place the avocado in the bottom of a nonreactive mixing bowl and gently toss it with 2 tablespoons of the lime juice. Spoon the tomato on top of the avocado.

2. Cut the kernels off the corn. The easiest way to do this is to lay the cob flat on a cutting board and remove the kernels using lengthwise strokes of a chef’s knife. Add the corn kernels to the mixing bowl. The salsa can be prepared to this stage up to 2 hours ahead. Refrigerate it, covered.

3. Just before serving, add the jalapeño(s) and cilantro to the mixing bowl and gently toss to mix. Taste for seasoning, adding more lime juice as necessary and season with salt and pepper to taste; the salsa should be highly seasoned.

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Meyer Lemon Marmalade

  • 6 Meyer lemons (1 1/2 pounds)
  • 4 cups water
  • 4 cups sugar

Special equipment:

Preparation

Halve lemons crosswise and remove seeds. Tie seeds in a cheesecloth bag. Quarter each lemon half and thinly slice. Combine with bag of seeds and water in a 5-quart nonreactive heavy pot and let mixture stand, covered, at room temperature 24 hours.

Bring lemon mixture to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 4 cups, about 45 minutes. Stir in sugar and boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally and skimming off any foam, until a teaspoon of mixture dropped on a cold plate gels, about 15 minutes.

Ladle hot marmalade into jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of top. Wipe rims with dampened cloth and seal jars with lids.

Put jars in a water-bath canner or on a rack set in a deep pot. Add enough hot water to cover jars by 1 inch and bring to a boil. Boil jars, covered, 5 minutes and transfer with tongs to a rack. Cool jars completely.

Cooks’ note: • Marmalade keeps, stored in a cool, dark place, up to 1 year.

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Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies

Hodgson Mill’s Recipe

Ingredients

½ cup Hodgson Mill Steel Cut Oats
2 ½ cups Hodgson Mill Naturally White Flour
1 cup water
1 ½ cups raisins
¾ cup butter
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cloves
¾ cup chopped nuts

Preparation

In a small saucepan, bring oats and water to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and stir for 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat and fold in raisins. Allow mixture to cool. Preheat oven to 375 ° F. Lightly grease two baking sheets. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla beating until smooth. In a separate bowl, blend dry ingredients together. Add dry ingredients to creamed ingredients mixing well. Fold in softened oats, raisins and nuts. Using a large spoon, drop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet evenly spacing to allow for spreading. Bake in a 375 ° F oven for 10-12 min. or until golden brown. Remove cookies from baking sheet and cool on wire racks.

Yields: 48 cookies.

Recipe Nutrient Analysis: 1/48 of recipe

100 calories; .77g dietary fiber; 16 g carbohydrates; 2g protein; 4 g fat (1 g saturated fat); 10mg cholesterol; 96mg sodium.

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