summer in a bowl

It is HOTT outside! It rarely gets all humid and sticky like it does out east, but right now Vancouver is going through a little heatwave and I'm not used to all this humidity. Cooking just isn't an option. Yesterday we were invited to a bbq and I decided to whip up a salad. Unfortunately, I wasn't very inspired to make anything new (I blame the heat), but somehow after checking out what the local market had out for sale, I knew I couldn't let all that natual goodness go to waste. Armed with green beans, fresh corn on the cob, cucumbers, parsley and other yummy vegetables, I whipped up a salad that is the epitomy of summer in a bowl. Colourful, crisp, fresh and healthy, this salad was a delicious barbeque accompaniment and I'll definitely be making this again.

The key to this salad is to keep everything bike sized. Not only does it make the salad look extra pretty, but it makes for a tastier mouthful!

colourful chopped vegetable salad
1 lb green beans, chopped
1 bunch of radishes, sliced into discs
1 green onions, sliced
2 tomatos, seeded and chopped
1/2 english cucumber, chopped
2 ears of corn
1 orange pepper, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 small bunch of parsley, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1 t cider vinegar
1 t honey
2 T olive oil
salt & pepper

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add green beans. Blanch until bright green and tender-crisp, about 1 minute. Drain and add to ice water to cool. Place green beans into bowl. With a sharp knife, remove the kernels from the corn cob and blanch for 2 minutes in salted water. Drain and cool. Add corn to bowl. Add remaining vegetables and parsley and mix.

2. Make dressing. Combine lemon juice, honey, vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Mix until thickened.

3. Toss dressing into salad and serve immediately.