I grew up in Minnesota, where corn inspires poetry. Makeshift sweet corn stands line roadsides and grocery store parking lots from July to mid-September, next to mountains of the freshly picked ears. I could eat corn-on-the-cob every single day of those two months without getting sick of it, realizing that it would not appear on the table again until the following summer.

The natural sugars in sweet corn begin to turn into starch from the moment it is picked, so choosing locally-grown, fresh corn makes a huge difference in taste. East Coast corn isn’t quite as sweet as what you’ll find in the Midwest (sorry, but it’s true), but it still has me dreaming up corn-centric recipes whenever I’m not actively concentrating on something else. Sweet potato corn bread, creamy corn and pesto soup, cornmeal pancakes with peach compote, sweet corn ice cream…the list goes on.

If I haven’t had time to plan dinner beforehand, I survey the contents of my fridge when I get home from work and use corn to make the motley assortment into a meal. This recipe is the result of one of those nights. It can be eaten on its own as a salad, or scooped up with tortilla chips or pita crisps as a salsa.

Sweet Corn and Avocado Salad
Serves 4-6 as a salad, or more as a salsa

6 ears sweet corn, peeled
1 ripe avocado, peeled and roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp. finely chopped basil
2 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro
¼ tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. ground cumin
Dash of crushed red pepper flakes and freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring large pot of water to a boil. Put in corn and cook 3 minutes. Remove the cobs with tongs and set aside to cool.
2. Stand each ear of corn on end in a large bowl and cut the kernels off the cob using a sharp knife.
3. Add all the other ingredients to the corn and mix well.