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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
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