Pesto Weather

I love working with our herbs.  One of my favorite jobs is watering them everyday, and I have to take it seriously. They are my tasty aromatic charges and no one is going to die on my watch if I can help it. Today I had one of my best friends over for lunch.  As always, I changed my mind about the menu 10 times.  I finally settled on 'Golden Corn Salad with Fresh Basil' from this month's Cooking Light.  It sounded SO GOOD and it didn't disappoint. As always when I am cooking something I will sample it along the way to see how it tastes, and I knew I had a keeper recipe from my first taste.  What I didn't know was how basil would elevate it from keeper to sublime.  The last ingredient is basil so after putting the whole salad together I went out to snip the basil from the garden, brought it in, chopped it up and sprinkled it on top.  Oh my gosh what a difference! Such a small act, adding a half cup of the quintessential summertime herb basil made this salad extra special, delish.  I should have taken a picture because it was a beautiful salad as well as tasty but alas I just ate the last of it as I was writing this.  There is a very good picture in Cooking Light if you want a visual.  As our summer is winding down I want to make lots of basil dishes; the time is fast approaching when it will be gone like our warm weather. Because of the cooler nights, plants are slowing down and not growing as much as they were even a few weeks ago. Soon basil will follow this summer and just be a memory. Some of the other herbs will hold on through the winter but not basil; it is even hard for us to grow in the greenhouse.   We keep two mother basil plants which are done from cuttings so we must overwinter them, not easy during those dark days.  So I guess it's time to think of that old saying 'make hay while the sun shines' or for basil, 'make pesto while the sun is hot and high in the sky'.  Not quite as catchy but just as true.

Golden Corn Salad with Fresh Basil

8 ounces small yellow Finnish potatoes (I used fingerlings of different colors)

3 cups of fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears)

2 cups assorted tear drop cherry tomatoes ( I used different sized and colored cherry tomatoes) halved

1 1/2 cup s chopped red bell pepper (I used several colors)

1/4 cup minced shallots

3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

1tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 cups arugula (I used arugula and spinach)

1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves

2 ounces goat cheese sliced (I used mozzarella as I couldn't get a good goat!)

1. Place the potatoes in a small saucepan; cover with water.  Bring to a boil; cook 11 minutes or until tender.  Drain and chill.  Cut potatoes in half lengthwise.  Combine potatoes, corn, tomatoes, and bell pepper in a large bowl.

2. Combine shallots and next 4 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Slowly pour oil into shallot mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Drizzle over corn mixture; toss well.  Add arugula; toss. Sprinkle with basil; top with cheese.