Grilled Corn Salsa

Grilled corn salsa with perfectly grilled corn, fresh tomato, red onion and cilantro, a little lime juice to bring all together, and a dash of heat from a jalapeno.  This recipe has been on repeat all summer here.  My kids love the corn in the pico de gallo.  I usually grill 5-6 ears of corn, and use half for the recipe and serve the others on the side.  Adapted from Minimalist Baker and Bobby Flay.

INGREDIENTS
2 large ears corn grilled and removed from the cobb
1/4 red onion, diced
4-6 ripe tomatoes, seeds slightly removed and diced
1 serrano or jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
juice of one lime
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

DIRECTIONS
To grill corn gently pull back the husk, leaving it still attached at the bottom and remove the silk.  Put the husk back on and soak the ears of corn in cold salt water (1T of salt in a large pitcher of water works well for me).  Soak for 10-15 minutes while the grill preheats.   With the husks on grill the corn for about 12 minutes, rotating it a quarter turn every 3 minutes or so.   If you want more color or char marks on the actual corn, carefully pull the husk back put it back on the grill for a little color for a couple of minutes rolling to heat all sides.

Once grilled, slice corn off of the cob and add to bowl with remaining ingredients and stir.
Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more salt, pepper, or lime juice for added flavor.
Serve immediately or cover and put in the fridge.

2 Minute Chocolate Microwave Mug Cake

Not all microwave mug cakes are created equal.  This is hands down our favorite.  Delicious with a scoop of ice-cream.  It is pretty rich--so we usually split one mug between 2-3 people.  Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 egg
3 tablespoons vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil, or half and half)
2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon nutella or peanut butter (slightly warm or melted is ideal)
Dash of vanilla and salt

DIRECTIONS:
Spray a mug with nonstick spray. Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl, pour into a mug. Microwave the cake on high until puffed about 2 minutes (watch closely because microwaves can vary in strength).   Err on the side of under-microwaving slightly and serve immediately since the texture gets a bit spongy as it cools.

Overnight Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

From Mel's Kitchen cafe.   This is our all-time favorite pizza dough recipe.  We like it even better then this one.   I rarely remember to make this the night before, but I do usually make it in the morning and let it rise in the fridge until about 3pm, then take it out to come to room temp.

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon salt
5 or more cups whole wheat flour (see note above – you may need to use upwards of 6 or so, depending on how sticky the dough is)

DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the water, yeast, honey, oil and salt.  Add the flour 1 cup at at time until a soft dough is formed. Knead for 5-7 minutes (about 10 minutes if kneading by hand).    The dough should be soft and smooth after kneading and shouldn’t leave a sticky residue on your fingers – but take care not to overflour so it is stiff.

Remove dough from bowl and shape dough on lightly floured counter into a ball.

Transfer the dough to a large bowl lightly greased with cooking spray. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap (and a lid, if the bowl has one) and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.

Remove the bowl 2-3 hours before making pizza to let it come to room temperature. 

Preheat oven (or grill) and pizza stone to 500 degrees.

Lightly punch down the dough.  Cut the dough into 2-3 equal size portions, then shape into pizzas.  We prefer a thinner crust and usually make 3 pizzas with this recipe.  Place rolled out crust on an inverted cookie sheet or a pizza peel covered with cornmeal.  Add sauce and toppings and cheese and bake at 475 or 500 degrees for 10-15 minutes in the oven, maybe less on the grill.  Keep an close eye on it when grilling.  The grill with the pizza stone can sometimes get even hotter then 500 degrees and cook the crust extra fast.