This simple little side has become a staple in our meal repertoire.
It’s perfect with grilled chicken or fish, but it’s also pretty tasty on its own…the next day…straight from the fridge.

Aren’t those peas gorgeous? They were grown on a local farm about 10 minutes from my house.

Really, this is the perfect spring dish…when you can find all three of these ingredients at your local Farmer’s Market. I’m failing you by finally sharing this halfway through October. My apologies – when I first discovered this little combo, I didn’t have anything clever to tell you about it. I still don’t, but this is one of those recipes you just can’t miss.

Peas, Asparagus, & Basil

Adapted slightly from Gourmet
Serves 4ish
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots (about 2)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 pound shelled fresh peas (2 1/2 cups; 1 3/4 pound in pods) or 1 (10-ounce) package thawed frozen peas
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Handful of torn basil leaves (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup grated parmesan
Preparation
Heat olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until tender, about 4 minutes.
Stir in asparagus, peas, sea salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender but still slightly al dente, about 8 minutes. Stir in basil, cheese and sea salt to taste.

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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Oh, grilled romaine…
where have you been all my life?
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My cooking buddy called the other day with the greatest news ever.

“Did you get your mail today?” She asked.
– Yes…. (Where could this be going?)
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‘There are only two things that money can’t buy and that’s true love and homegrown tomatoes.’
My friend Hayley quotes that song all the time and it’s SO true.

It’s become my gardening mantra as I slowly narrow down the list of things I’m willing to slave over in the garden. Corn? So not worth it. It never gets quite as sweet as I like it and the ants get it far before it’s fully ripe. Squash? I’ve been banned from planting them after last summer’s saga (it’s a long story but basically, I was bed-ridden with a bad back when Andrew found me on hands and knees in the garden, killing vine borers while sobbing in pain – yes, I’m a little neurotic). Cucumbers? Apparently a rare orange Chinese variety has found its way to my back yard. Essentially, I’m down to peppers, melons, green beans, okra, herbs and homegrown tomatoes.
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