Editorial
Front Page - Friday, May 21, 2010
Kay's Cooking Corner
Kay Bona
Every time I visit my hairdresser to get my hair trimmed (along with gray covered), she turns her TV to the Food Network Channel. She knows I write about, cook and eat lots of food, and that I have been cooking since I could reach the stove by standing on a chair. Well, maybe that is a little exaggeration, but all the rest of it is true.
However, that channel – I don’t know, I just can’t watch it… it makes me so hungry! And more times than not, I am starving when I get to her shop, because I have not eaten properly. Having to sit still for a few hours and watch meal after wonderful meal being prepared (not to mention the luscious deserts) is torture to the extreme.
The CIA doesn’t have to really use all those water-boarding techniques (or whatever it is they do) to get the bad guys to talk. All they have to do is starve a person a day or so, then turn on Bobby Flay running around his grill, sprinkling spices on everything, or Rachel Ray tasting her dish, and then giggling at its wonderful flavor. Not to mention Paula Deen with all of her um-m-ms and ah-h-hs! It is that bad.
The last time I was tuned in, I was there long enough to watch several shows, and to have my hunger pangs eat away my insides. I watched preparation of some mouth-watering Cuban-style pork chops with Mojo, some grilled eggplant, some kind of Turnip recipe (sorry, but that one did nothing for me except bring back bad childhood memories of my grandmothers’ turnips), a really yummy-looking fried potato rosette and a tasty looking corn salad.
That brings me to my recipe today – a tasty Corn Salad. I have a recipe similar to the one I saw aired. It is a wonderful side dish and goes with anything from pork chops to hamburgers. It also makes a great carry-along for picnics and such.
My recipe has fennel in it. I don’t know if you have ever tried fennel or not, but if you haven’t, now is a good time to do so, and it is so good in this salad.
Fennel is crunchy and slightly sweet. It is a white or pale green bulb with closely arranged stalks. The stalks have feathery green leaves from which flowers grow and produce fennel seeds. The bulb, stalk, leaves and seeds are all edible. Fennel belongs to the Umbellifereae family and is closely related to parsley, carrots, dill and coriander.
Fennel contains a large list of phytonutrients, which I could name for you, but you would probably be none the smarter by my doing so, just trust me – it’s a very healthy green vegetable that provides strong antioxidant protection in our bodies. However, the most fascinating phytonutrient compound in fennel, is the anethole-the primary component of its volatile oil. In animal studies, the anethole in fennel has been shown to reduce inflammation and to help prevent the occurrence of cancer. In addition to its unusual phytonutrients, fennel bulb is an excellent source of vitamin C.
Well, hope you give this a try and include the fennel. You won’t be disappointed!
Corn salad
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 Granny Smith apple,
peeled, cored and chopped
1 Fennel Bulb, quartered,
cored, thinly sliced and
chopped
1/2 medium red onion,
chopped
2 tablespoons chopped
parsley leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground
black pepper, to taste
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons apple cider
vinegar
2 tablespoons spicy brown
mustard
1/3 cup canola oil
In a large serving bowl, toss together the corn, apples, fennel and onion. Add the parsley and cumin and season with salt and pepper to taste. In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, vinegar, mustard and oil. Add the dressing to the vegetables and toss well to coat.
|
|