Late-Summer Vegetable Dishes

With it being late-August, all gardens are producing bountifully, and it can be difficult to come up with creative vegetable side dishes. Here are two excellent recipes to either use up those cobs of corn you bought from your local farmer's market or the plentiful tomatoes you have ripening in your garden.

Spicy Grilled Corn Side Dish

My sister and I created this dish to go with some rib steaks (cooked to a perfect medium) and baked potatoes. It was truly the perfect accompaniment with a slight South American feel with the cilantro, corn, and hot pepper. We can proudly say that the green pepper, banana pepper, and cherry tomatoes came straight from our garden.

1 barbecue-proof pan (or two aluminum loaf pans, as I had to use)
4 ears corn on the cob, kernels removed
1 small onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 roasted red pepper packed in oil, diced
1 freshly roasted banana pepper, diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes
olive oil to drizzle
salt and pepper
1 handful cilantro, roughly chopped

1. Preheat your barbecue to about medium heat.
2. Combine corn kernels, onion, peppers, and cherry tomatoes in barbecue-proof pan(s)
3. Drizzle with enough olive oil to keep mixture from burning during cooking and season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Place dish on barbecue, consistently stirring until all the vegetables are tender and the cherry tomatoes cracked and oozing tomato juices.
5. Stir in Cilantro at the last minute and serve.

Basic Tomato Salad

A tomato salad to me should have both acidity and sweetness, which is why I chose to use a white wine vinegar for its sourness and a balsamic which tends to be sweeter. I added some oregano and basil for some extra summer flair and complexity.

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp granulated white sugar
1 tbsp basil, roughly chopped
1 tbsp oregano, roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste

6 to 8 tomatoes (basically enough to match the dressing)
1/2 an onion, diced

1. In a large bowl, combine olive oil, vinegars, sugar, herbs, and salt and pepper.
2. Cut garden tomatoes into chunks or slices. Add to the dressing.
3. Add diced onion to mixture as well and mix thoroughly.
4. Serve in four salad bowls, as I feel this recipe is adequate for four people.