One of the sweetest souvenirs of summer + early fall.
Jump to RecipeLast week, we had what will likely be the last lovely dinner gathering in our backyard before the leaves fall. It was glorious.
I went to the market the morning before to gather all the things on offer this time of year; typically we think of the fall farmer’s market as being somewhat sparse, as the “goodies” have all passed but quite the opposite is true here in Colorado. This is the BEST time of the year for cooking and eating because it feels as if literally everything is in bounty. Corn on the cob, fresh tomatoes, perfect plums, peaches and pears, the first apples, tender lettuces, sweet carrots, crisp cucumbers, the last of the summer squashes and the first of the pumpkins. It’s truly a cook (and an eaters) dream.
I scooped up everything that felt fleeting, and tried to find a use for all of it – I think I did alright as we filled our table heartily. And then, lit up our Ooni pizza oven + filled the backyard with just a few friends (one of them my very dear friend Ali Vagnini who brought her camera + snapped these incredible pictures.) We poured wine, chased a toddling Leo around the yard, and let the oven cook delicious dish after delicious dish, straight down to the dessert. When the sun had finally set, the ice cream had melted and the wine bottles were dry, we teetered off to bed – so happy with cups, bellies and hearts so full.
Meals like make me appreciate the lessons of Ayurveda all the more. I think that the window this wisdom provides encourages me to appreciate the small things, recognize and appreciate the magnitude of fleeting moments, the richness that this land we live on provides, and the generosity all around. It feels like a complete gift to work with ingredients this beautiful; foods that need very little to be excellent, that invite simple ways of cooking such that you can have a conversation, hold your child, drink a glass of wine and still nail the dish.
This occasion felt like such a capstone that I wanted to share a recipe from the evening with you here – there’s still time to host your own special evening in the backyard, with simple foods grown near where you live too.
In my client work this week, I had several instances where I found myself in conversation, answering the question of “what should I eat for…”
The answer, in Ayurveda, is always always always what the land around you is providing, right now. Always.
When it comes to ride food, or lunch ideas, breakfast standbys and dinner inspirations, we can frankly turn the question on it’s head and say: what is the land giving us, and how can we eat it?
I hope that fresh corn is still available where you live (it certainly is for us here in the mountain West.)
That’s right – and pizza was no where on the menu! I loved coming up with recipes to make in the Ooni. This little oven will make so much more than pizza! But using this as your primary cooking device will require a little attention. It’s the coolest party trick to make your meal live in front of your guests! And sometimes you burn something – I know I did – but it’s worth learning how to watch until what you’re making is perfect.
On the menu this particular evening, we made the Coconut Elotes you’re about to swoon over, as well as steamed mussels in wine (a dish that I typically make on the stovetop when very good mussels reveal themselves on the Front Range,) and also this Burst Cherry Tomato Gnocchi. For dessert, I grilled peaches w/maple butter in a cast iron skillet, topped it with my truly to-die-for peach ice cream, and a sprinkling of chopped toasted pistachios. Damn. (You can find the recipe in my most recent Instagram post!)
But these Coconut Elotes are a recipe I’ll be back for. Per usual, when I make something I love and don’t want to lose, it’s important for it to live here in the Library – for me, and all others, to enjoy.
Corn is one of those special summer treats that I don’t think much about in terms of it’s “health benefits.” Obviously, when the opportunity arises, I’m going to eat a beautiful, juicy ear of corn, charred to perfection and slathered in butter (or coconut butter as is the case here.) But corn is very interesting from an Ayurvedic perspective, and it’s worth mentioning it’s doshic impacts here.
While most sweet foods have a negative impact (ie: elevate) on kapha dosha, and a positive impact (ie: reduce) vata and pitta dosha, corn has the opposite effect. Corn has a drying property that helps to sponge up excess kapha in the system (making corn tortillas, corn chips and other foods made with whole corn) helpful in the spring or summer months, when we have excess heat or moisture in the body. But, this drying effect can be almost too drying for vata and pitta dosha. Which is to say that if you notice your digestion is a little sluggish after eating corn many times a week, don’t be surprised.
Corn on the cob is one of the most delicious luxuries in this hemisphere, in my opinion, and so I do hope you’ll indulge when the spirit moves you and the time is right. We can rebalance the doshas after dinner.
There isn’t much to this recipe! Traditional elotes are slathered with a truly delicious mixture of sour cream, mayonnaise and garlic, sprinkled with cotija cheese. As delicious as it is, this combination can be a bit hard on the stomach (especially during the late summer when we’re all pretty blasted from the adventures of life.) The coconut stand-in here lightens the dish without leaving anything to be desired. This also makes a truly delicious dish for the vegans in your life. I love the way that corn and coconut play together on the palate, and the addition of chives, paprika and salt land it all. If you don’t have a pizza oven, you can make this in your indoor oven easily – the method is the same, but it may take you a little longer to get the job done. See the recipe notes for indoor cooking instructions.
The “new” ingredient on the block here is coconut butter, which is positively DIVINE. I use it in my chia pudding, spread it on toast, use it in rice crispy treats , date bombs and so many places. Invest in a jar and thank me later.
I love serving this dish as a side for a bbq or cookout, but these elotes could stand on their own as the celebratory centerpiece of any summer meal.
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