Skip to main content

Mater Salad

Homegrown Tomato, Cucumber, and Corn Summer Salad

1 large homegrown tomato, ripe, chopped
2 Kirby cucumbers, chopped
1-2 ears fresh ears of corn, kernels sliced off the ears
Mayonnaise
Apple cider vinegar
Pinch of sugar
Kosher salt & pepper to taste

Mix about a third of a cup of mayonnaise with about 2-3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar in a bowl. Add a pinch of sugar and salt & pepper to taste. Taste the dressing before you add the vegetables. 

Chop up a large, ripe, homegrown tomato -- Better Boy, Cherokee Purple, whatever you've got. This recipe does not work with store-bought, mass-produced tomatoes. Chop up a couple of Kirby cucumbers or half of an English cucumber. Slice the kernels off of 1-2 ears of corn. Add the vegetables to the dressing in the bowl, stir to combine. Cover and chill until dinner is ready.

This salad holds for a day or two, but it's best when fresh. The vegetables are sweet and crunchy; the dressing is creamy and tangy; it's a match made in summer!



If you don't feel like making your own dressing, you can use a store-bought creamy dressing like ranch or bleu cheese. But honestly, the mayo-and-apple-cider-vinegar deal is really good, so I recommend it.

I got this recipe from my Aunt Sybil. I'm actually not sure she used Kirby cucumbers, but I do, and they work nicely.

Aunt Sybil was the best cook in the family. My mother barely cooked -- I mean, she had some great recipes, and I'll be sharing them -- but she didn't love it, and she didn't seek to do it as often as possible, like I do. Or like Aunt Sybil did. 

Mama brought this recipe home with her after her last trip to Mississippi to see Aunt Sybil the summer of 1992. She marveled at the casual ease with which her sister just cut things up and tossed them together with mayonnaise and apple cider vinegar. When it's summertime and everything in the garden is at its peak, it only makes sense to keep it simple and fresh.

So here's Aunt Sybil's mater salad recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Also! I have ripe tomatoes in my tomato patch. Finally! It's been a weird year, weather-wise, as well as virus-wise, political-wise, and Kanye-West-wise. Let me know if you try this dish!

--Bay
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fabulous Turkey Brine

 Fabulous Turkey Brine 3/4 cup kosher salt 1/3 cup sugar 2 Tbsp whole coriander seeds 1 Tbsp fennel seeds 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 4 cloves garlic, crushed 3-4 bay leaves 2 carrots, diced 2 celery stalks, diced 1 onion, diced (or half of one onion plus 1-2 shallots, diced) 2 gallons cool water A 12 to 21-pound turkey Combine the vegetables, aromatics, herbs, salt, and sugar with the 2 gallons of water in a large vessel (21-quart pot for a small turkey, 5-gallon bucket for a large one). Stir. Add turkey. Ensure the breast is under water -- employ weights if necessary. (A foil-covered brick has been known to make itself useful in such circumstances in my kitchen.)  Brine for 2 to 3 days. Remove the turkey from the brine the night before Thanksgiving. Pat dry and -- ideally -- chill the turkey in the refrigerator, uncovered, to allow the skin to dry out overnight. Dry turkey skin gets browner during cooking. Follow the directions on the turkey's packaging for the actual co...
1 comment
Read more

Melon Salad

Melon Salad 3 cups watermelon balls (or chunks) 3 cups cantaloupe balls (or chunks) 3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil 3 Tbsp chopped fresh mint 1/3 cup fresh or bottled lemon juice 1/3 cup simple syrup Combine the melon chunks in a bowl.  In a food processor or blender, combine the basil, mint, lemon juice, and simple syrup.  (To make simple syrup, boil together equal amounts of water and sugar, and allow that to cool. Very important! Do not add hot simple syrup to the blender; it'll cook the basil and turn it black, which is not appetizing at all.) Blend/process the basil, mint, lemon juice, and cool simple syrup for a minute until thoroughly combined. The dressing will have lovely little green flecks all through it. Pour over the melon balls, stir to combine. Refrigerate for several hours so that the dressing thoroughly soaks into the melon. (The cantaloupe takes longer to soak it in; otherwise, you could serve this salad the moment you make it.) I can't tell you how much we love t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lumpy Chicken Salad

Lumpy Chicken Salad 2 to 2.5 cups cooled rotisserie chicken, pulled off the bone and chopped into 1/2" dice 3/4 cup light mayonnaise 3 to 4 Tbsp Dijon mustard 2 to 3 Tbsp light Italian dressing 1/2 cup small diced celery 1/3 cup red grapes halved (quartered if they're very big) 1/4 to 1/3 cup chopped pecans 1/3 cup Honeycrisp apple, peeled and 1/2" diced scant 1/4 cup green onion, greens sliced diagonally Salt & pepper to taste Optional: diced red pepper, dill pickle relish Combine the ingredients, chill for 2-3 hours, serve. Delicious and easy! My friend Erik reminded me today that it's too dang hot to cook in the kitchen right now, and he is absolutely right. When July takes over the Cruddy Little Kitchen, I take the toaster oven outside to the porch for anything that needs to be baked. I run an ugly orange extension cord out there and use electric tape to try to make sure nothing gets electrocuted if a thunderstorm blows the rain sideways toward the toaster ove...
2 comments
Read more