Spicy Grilled Corn and Black Bean Salad

I love the flavors of the sweet and smokey corn combined with spicy southwestern flavors. This side dish goes with so many foods and is perfect to make for a summertime BBQ. You don't have to grill the corn but it adds a nice dimension. I made this with left over corn from the previous days grilling. Feel free to improvise. Add or delete just about anything. Not to many rules here.



Ingredients:
3 ears of grilled corn*
1 can of small black beans
Finely diced carrots
Finely diced red pepper
Finely diced red onion
Finely chopped cilantro
Balsamic vinegar
Olive Oil
Lime, cut into wedges
Cayenne pepper
Ground cumin
Salt

See the below note for cooking the corn. Have the cooked corn ready. I use cold pre-grilled corn for this recipe.
Remove the corn from the cobs and place in a large bowl. Add the finely diced vegetables. Add the vinegar, oil, and spices. Mix well and add the cilantro and taste for salt. Serve with a wedge of lime.
* A note on grilling the corn. Soak the corn with the husk and silk intact for 10 minutes or so. Grill over a low to moderate heat. I use wood and get a nice smokey flavor. The other option is to pre-boil the husked corn for a few minutes and then grill the corn directly on the grill. Both methods work out fine.

CALIFORNIA SALAD

Having just returned from California I thought I would post a salad inspired by my trip. I really enjoyed eating a beautiful healthy salad that my cousin Dennis made for our lunch one day and this recipe was inspired by that lunch and Dennis.



Ingredients
1/2 of a ripe grapefruit
1 ripe Avocado
grape or cherry tomatoes
2 fresh ripe apricots
mixed greens
10 oz of fresh pacific salmon
lemons
olive oil
fresh thyme - finely chopped
A couple blackberries for a garnish
Salted water for poaching the fish

Method
Mix the olive oil with a pinch of salt, the fresh thyme and the juice of a lemon, add a couple drops of water and whisk together until it has emulsified a bit. Set the "vinaigrette" aside.
Bring the salted water to a simmer and poach the fish until done being careful not to over cook. remove the salmon from the poaching liquid and set aside. remove the skin if it is still on.
Using a grapefruit knife or improvising with a serrated knife remove the sections of grapefruit from the membrane and set that aside along with the juice. Peel and slice the apricot and cut the tomatoes in half. Now comes the avocado, I assume you all know how to cut an avocado but for those that are not sure, here is how to do it. Make a slice down the middle to the core and continue all the way around. Twist the two sections until they separate. The "seed" will remain on one side, with a sharp knife and a single chopping motion pierce the seed with the middle of the blade. Pull the seed from the avocado and it should be stuck to the knife. Carefully remove the seed from the blade. Now with the knife make a few slices from one end of the avocado to the other, and now using a spoon remove the slices from the outer skin. Immediately spoon a little of the lemon vinaigrette on the avocado to prevent discoloring.
We are ready to assemble the salad. First dress the mixed greens with a little of the lemon vinaigrette and then arrange all the other ingredients except for the salmon around and on top of the greens. Flake the cooled salmon with a fork and place on top of the salad, drizzle the dressing on top of the fish and the salad. Garnish with a blackberry and serve with some good crusty bread.