Simple Salsa Salad

Hello, fellow Patch readers, my name is Bob, and this is my blog about cooking and recipes.

I love to cook, and my philosophy is that recipes are basic guidelines, and are fair game for messing around with to make a dish look and/or taste differently from its original design.

This practice makes the recipe mine, even though others may be making the same changes to it elsewhere across America or the world. I encourage you to adopt the same practice, within reason, of course – adding chopped jalapenos is a great way to spice up your cornbread, but maybe not so great in that special sourdough loaf.

Think about your chosen recipe and what changes you could do to make it more enjoyable, increase the flavor or its appearance. Then visit several websites to search for similar recipes.

Long, long ago, I learned that if I wanted to do something new, I should check my resources before starting. That is also true for recipes, and resources are more readily available today than any other point in the history of cooking!

Besides stacks of cookbooks, Grandma (or Grandpa), friends, neighbors, the library, magazines and newspapers, there are wonderful Internet sites that have not only recipes, but also comments and suggestions by cooks that have gone before you.

Often, these sites provide videos to help guide you through difficult processes. Most important of all is to relax and enjoy yourself as you create memorable dishes!

The first recipe I want to share with you is a very simple salad that is somewhat based on salsa – I even named it Salsa Salad, but is intended as a side salad, rather than to eat with chips, although it certainly could be.

Again, use your imagination to make whatever changes you desire. Give it a great name and call it your own creation, just do not try to apply for a copyright – recipes are not eligible for protection under copyright laws.

That is why Colonel Sanders and Popeye’s Chicken guard their recipes so closely. They rely on secret blends for consistency and unique blending of spices to ensure they are the only one selling their particular tastes.

Should you ever anticipate selling your special jelly or jam, keep your recipe secret or every other person will be able to duplicate your recipe and you will wind up going broke and giving away your inventory. You will also have to endure disgusted looks from your spouse, but that is another story. Here is the recipe, and you will certainly agree that it is simple, but very tasty:

Salsa Salad

1 Firm Avocado

1 Red, ripe tomato

¼ cup finely diced onion

1 cup of fresh or frozen whole kernel corn (thawed)

Fresh lemon juice

Cayenne pepper (Optional)

Lettuce leaves

Salt

Pepper

Cut the tomato into a dice, put into a strainer and sprinkle lightly with salt. This will help take a lot of water out of the tomato, keeping your salad from getting soggy.

Dice the avocado and squeeze the lemon juice over it to keep it from turning black.

Combine the diced tomato, avocado, onion and corn in a bowl. Toss to mix, add seasoning as desired. Chill for at least thirty minutes.

Divide and serve on lettuce leaves.

Serves four.

Until next time, when we discuss bread making , keep cooking, and if you try this recipe, leave comments on how you make it your own!