Late Summer Harvest Salad

The leaves are becoming crisp, the sun is bright, days are warm and our gardens ripe. This recipe is my go-to potluck dish to pass. It stand up to long periods of time in the hot sun and is a real crowd pleaser. I have even served this salad to my family as a the main course for dinner with a side of quinoa. Any leftovers are perfect for lunch the next day. If possible do your best to find organic options especially on known GMO crop foods such as corn.

Late Summer Harvest Salad

Organic = OG

4 cups OG kale no stems chopped tightly packed

2 cups OG sweet corn fresh or frozen

3 carrots OG peeled and chopped

1 Granny Smith apple OG seeded and chopped

1 avocado OG cubed

2 tablespoons chopped OG red onion

1 lemon OG juiced

1/4 cup OG extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

If you use fresh or frozen corn boil in plain water for 5 minutes. Remove from water and allow to cool while you prepare the other ingredients. Wash kale and strip leaves from stem. To do this; firmly hold the washed leaf stem in one hand and wrapping your other hand tightly around just above the base of the stem, pull up to separate the leafy part away from the stem.  Finely chop greens and save stems for juicing, soup or another purpose. Place greens in a large bowl and massage with your hands to soften the leaves, set aside. Peel and chop carrots into small cubes. Leaving skin on, chop the Granny Smith apple into small pieces. Remove meat from a ripe avocado and cube into small pieces. Chop the red onion in smaller pieces than the other ingredients. If you have used fresh corn on the cob, remove the corn from the cob with a sharp knife. Add the warm corn to the kale and combine. Then add all other ingredients and mix well. Taste and adjust flavors.

This salad can be made a day ahead of time. If you do so hold off on adding the avocado until the day of serving. The lemon juice will help the other ingredients hold their color.