Sunshine Corn Salad

Now that it’s the beginning of the New Year and we have enjoyed so much of the good foods from Thanksgiving to New Years, its time to get back to our healthy eating habits. Here is a great salad that we all can enjoy. What a treat but you can have this salad all year long! Black olives would be great too!

Like the colors of summer, this salad combines corn, bell peppers and yellow squash for gorgeous visual appeal. What a delightful way to enjoy these garden vegetables. (We fixed this corn salad for Christmas dinner and used red and green bell pepper, was just as good and a little darker in color).

Serves 4 1.5 Cups per serving

1/2 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil (extra-virgin preferred)
1 teaspoon snipped fresh parsley and 1 teaspoon snipped fresh parsley, divided use
1/8 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
3/4 cup frozen whole-kernel corn
1 tablespoon water
1/2 medium orange bell pepper, diced
1/2 medium yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 medium yellow summer squash (about 2 1/2 ounces), diced
1 tablespoon pine nuts, dry roasted

In a medium serving bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, 1 teaspoon parsley, mustard, salt ad pepper.

In a small microwaveable bowl, combine the corn and water. Microwave on 100 percent power (high) for 2 minutes. Drain in a strainer. Run the kernels under cold running water for 30 seconds to coll. Pat dry with paper towels. Transfer to the serving bowl.

Add the bell peppers, squash and pine nuts. Toss to combine. Serve sprinkled with the remaining 1 teaspoon parsley.

Nutrition Tip: As soon as corn is harvested, its surgars begin to convert to starch. The sooner it’s eaten or processed after it’s picked, the better. That is why frozen corn can be just as sweet as - or sweeter than - corn that sits for days in the produce department.