Day Two Hundred and Four : September 1st

Its 95 degrees with very high humidity, a pro tennis player collapsed at the US Open today and the air quality is on high alert, would you guess its September 1st? I wouldn't! So in thinking about what to do as a recipe for today, I thought about suggesting a cooling salad featuring an ingredient that is in season now but in other forms signals harvest time, Fall, and Thanksgiving. What is it? Corn and its autumnal cousin would of course be Indian corn.  For our cooling salad, I took some inspiration from the side dish I had at ABC Kitchen this previous weekend and decided to make it my own...

So let's get going with our simple salad:

Corn
Honeydew Melon
Persian Cucumbers
Mint
Parsley
Pearl Onion
Lime Juice
Young Goat Gouda
Pink Sea Salt
Black Pepper
White Wine Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

First steam 8 ears of corn, take the kernels off and place in a bowl. Next get a nice ripe honeydew melon and dice about a half cup of small squares. Take between two and three Persian cucumbers (depending on size) and dice into equally small squares. Dice up between half and two-thirds of your pearl onion, you don't want the onionto be the overpowering taste here, that's for sure! Combine all together, drizzle with a small amount of lime juice, white wine vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. Then top with diced up parsley and mint mix together. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Then top with young goat gouda grated on top.

Why young goat gouda and not regular gouda or even goat gouda?

Well that is because of the fact that young goat gouda is lactic, fresh, and grassy with a grate-able consistency and a lingering hint of sweetness, perfect for the creamy component of our corn salad, not overpowering but definitely subtly present.

Once the cheese is grated on top, enjoy this with a nice glass of Ravines Keuka White Wine. A Franco-American blend, 20% Vignoles, 80 % Cayuga White grapes, this Finger lakes white wine is perfect for a day like today. Floral, fruity, with a minerally finish, this is a light, easy drinking white wine.

Ravines Keuka White 2008