Like mac and cheese, potato salad, and pinto beans, this corn salad has made it to the must-cook list in my bbq dinner repertoire.

Since the combo of roasted corn, feta, basil, red onion, and tomatoes lends itself so well to experimentation, I’m hard-pressed to commit to one specific recipe.

Instead, I’ll give you a foundation and you can take it from there.

First, roast 2 ears of corn on the grill. Do not remove the husks! Plop those suckers straight on the grill and let the husks get nice and crispy, rotating to brown each side. After about 5 minutes, remove the corn and allow to cool.

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This is a tough week for cooking.

We leave tomorrow for a wedding and a funeral. Since our expected departure was moved up a day due to funeral arrangements, there was no point in making my weekly grocery run. We did a fridge clean of leftovers on Tuesday. Tonight, I think I’ll let Andrew take me to dinner.
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It’s official — we are Hatch Chile fanatics.

It was pretty official before, but ever since fresh, roasted Hatch chiles appeared at our neighborhood HEB this season, we’ve been hooked. Every single dish we cook features Hatch chiles in some form. We’ve added them to our eggs, side dishes, main dishes and desserts. I’ve made pastes, sauces, salsas and gravies. I’ve used them to marinate meat, wrapped them in meat and cooked them alongside meat.
I told you…we’re addicted.

One of our greatest resources this Hatch chile season has been a fantastic cookbook I found at Half Price. I didn’t really discover this tome…I just recognized it as an amazing find. A’s parents (who lived in Santa Fe for a time) own this cookbook. A has referred to it as the ‘Bible of Green Chile Cooking’. I have to agree…it’s pretty damn great.
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It flusters people when they find out I don’t eat meat. First, there’s silence and a curious look. Then, the 20 questions ensue.

‘Why?’ is always the first. I can’t really claim it’s because I’m against killing animals. I love a good steak and I think the venison from my dad’s hunting exploits is better than any gourmet delicacy. Not to mention that I love leather shoes and purses (and maybe even pants, skirts and dresses). So, it’s not about that.
I will say, however, that the beef industry and corn-feeding completely gross me out, sadden me and make me very picky about beef when I do eat it.

Why don’t I eat meat then? Honestly, I just feel a lot better when I don’t. I don’t get the meat coma or the overly full feeling and I feel a lot leaner. When I do eat meat more than occasionally, I notice the difference. In spades. And, I realize that’s how I felt before I stopped eating it. So, for me, being veggie (with an occasional meat indulgence) is a much healthier option.

Another question I’m commonly asked is ‘how do you get enough iron and protein?’ Simple. I eat foods that contain iron and protein. Contrary to popular belief, meat is not the only carrier of either.

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You would think that after a vacation, you should come home relaxed, invigorated and motivated to hit the ground running. It so doesn’t work that way.

Even if you’re like me and diligently clean the house before you go, there’s still laundry to do. Not to mention the fact that there’s not someone to make your bed every morning and leave a little towel creature on it. There’s also not a little evening fairy who turns down your bed, leaves yummy chocolates and lights candles just before you enter your room.

Boo. It’s hard to come home.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my life, my house and I totally missed my kitties. But, it’s just not paradise.

Everytime A and I go on a vacation, we come back bummed. We usually start to think about how we can move to the place we just visited. We’ve even gone so far as to make real-estate inquiries. Realistically, we know that if we actually moved to these destinations, they would no longer be destinations–they’d be home. We’d have to do laundry there and, heaven forbid, turn down our own sheets at night. That doesn’t keep us from dreaming and feeling sad about coming home to a musty house and needy cats.

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