Let's yap about summer sweet corn.

When we think of sweet corn, it's often a vision of cooked corn on the cob slathered with melty butter. It's absolutely incredibly delicious. But have you tried it raw as a topping on salad? The raw corn kernels is what takes this southwest summer salad from good to really, really great.

summer salad of chopped romaine, red peppers, purple onion, fresh corn, and cotilla cheese in wooden bowl

Opening Day is a holiday at our house. We take the day off, dress according to the forecast (rain, shine, snow - we've done it all), meet up with friends, and enjoy baseball once again in Pittsburgh. It's a party that lasts all day. We haven't missed the home opener in, wow, I don't even know how long. It's a lotta years.

Baseball season in 2020, like so many other things, came to a screeching halt before it had a chance to begin. We did have the unforeseen good fortune to make our annual trek to Spring Training in Florida, before the COVID-19 virus shut it all down.

We go every year with our friends, Amy, Betsy, and Bert. Due to work schedules, we were forced to plan our vacation a couple weeks earlier than we typically do. None of us was too happy about it at the time. However, we had amazing weather and got to see other friends who were there at the same time. Hindsight being 20/20 and all (see what I did there), it's funny how things work out.

The originally scheduled home opener came and went, the ball park quiet, our tickets unused. We waited in quarantine while the MLB figured out a way to salvage the season. We wondered if we'd already seen in Florida all the baseball there was to see this year.

When the Pirates finally played their first game of the season, we social-distance tailgated in Bert & Betsy's driveway. (Yes, Betsy of Nellie's Cabbage Rolls fame.)

The Pirates had 10 hits (and still lost). Team Kim & Doug had a one-hit win with this southwest summer salad and avocado ranch dressing.

Southwest Summer Salad

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Servings:

Calories: 114kcal

Ingredients

3 romaine hearts chopped
3 ears fresh sweet corn husked and kernels cut from cob
1 red bell pepper diced
1 green bell pepper diced
1 pint grape tomatoes quartered
½ red onion chopped
3 ounces cotija cheese crumbled; omit for dairy free and vegan
1 recipe Avocado Ranch Dressing omit for dairy free and vegan

Instructions

Prep all ingredients as directed in ingredients list.
Place ⅓ of the romaine in a serving bowl. Top with ⅓ of the corn, peppers, tomatoes, onion and cheese.
Repeat two more times to create three layers of salad.
Serve with Avocado Ranch Dressing.
Enjoy!