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Thursday, April 24, 2008

LiveSTRONG Day - May 13th, 2008

As mentioned in my last post, April and May bring two very important foodie events to me. Cooking to Combat Cancer was the first, and LiveSTRONG Day is the 2nd.

LiveSTRONG is the motto behind Lance Armstrong's Foundation about cancer awareness, surviving cancer and living with cancer YOUR way. I think this is an amazing and unique organization and it's refreshing to know it's not all about money.. Lance's foundation truly helps those who are battling cancer.

Last year, Barbara of Winos and Foodies hosted the first annual LiveSTRONG with a Taste of Yellow and an amazing 149 bloggers participated.. This year she is holding the 2nd annual LiveSTRONG with a Taste of Yellow 2008 and the deadline for participation is April 27th - I hope we all unify to surpass last year's number, especially since she's moved the participation dead line from April 19th. :)

I'm quite happy about the extension as my last post kinda left me with nothing afterwards. Not to mention, I wanted to blog about an amazing dish in tribute to Lance AND Barbara and although I had two "yellow" dishes all ready to go, they weren't very special to me.

So I decided to hang up my written post and think about what kind of dish I really wanted to submit. Well here in NE Ohio, I think it is safe to assume (am knockin on wood all over the place) that Spring has sprung! We've had lovely weather, not too rainy.. just the right temps - high 60's lower 70's and because we live right on the lake, there is a wonderful breeze coming off it each afternoon. There are Daffodils, Crocuses, Hyanciths, Irises and lots of other beautiful flowers popping up everywhere. The trees have started to bud and the smaller flowering trees are completely covered in their gorgeous blooms.. one cannot help but to think about new beginnings, fresh starts, and awakenings after a gloomy winter has passed by.

Now, flowers and trees certainly do scream Spring! to me, but so do fresh vegetables.. for now is the time to start thinking about that garden you'll be planting in a few short weeks. Some of us already have our seedlings growing steady just waiting to be transplanted to their warm summer homes (San Marzanos! Thanks to my beautiful Creampuff! squeeeee!). The hubbs and I have been talking incessantly about what perennials we're going to plant this year and arguing over where the zucchini plants will go in the garden. hehe Last year we found the perfect spot and I had so many zucchini that I didn't know what to do with (thank God for neighbors, co-workers, friends, family and the occasional stranger off the street) and they pretty much took over the middle part of the garden. hee!

Roasted Corn Relish

So I knew I wanted this dish to represent Spring and all of the renewal it brings. Hope, if you will. A startling realization that after the gloom, there is sun.

The corn from down south is starting to arrive in our supermarkets and I couldn't resist buying some this past weekend. I wanted to make something light that allowed the corn's sweetness to shine through and I think I did a damn good job of doing just that. :D

Roasted Corn Relish

I roasted 4 ears of corn on our grill until I could no longer stand the amazing fragrance coming from them. I let them cool for a bit and while I left them to do that, I thinly sliced up 4 green onions, diced half of a yellow bell pepper and 1/2 of an avocado. Once the corn was cool enough to handle, I cut the sweet kernals from their cobs and threw about 1/2 of them in with the onions, peppers and avocado. I dressed this mixture simply with a little lime zest, the juice of 1/2 a lime, a sprinkling of sea salt and a splash of good quality olive oil. I mixed gently and let all sit together for a while so that their flavors could meld.

Next up was simple grilled, boneless pork chops with nothing but garlic, salt & pepper for seasoning. Once the chops were just cooked through, I topped each with 2 huge spoonfuls of the roasted corn relish. OHMYGOD. I can't tell you how shocked I was at how good this turned out! The bitterness of the lime with the sweetness of the corn and a background zing of the fresh spring onion.. all with the creaminess that the avocado lent.. my, my, my, my and my.

Roasted Corn Relish

I don't think I could have come up with a better tribute to Spring, the new hope it brings, and Barbara and Lance for all they do to keep spirits high. Thank you both for giving so many people the hope and awareness it takes to not look at living with cancer as a death sentence, because it's not. I firmly believe that mind over matter is very, very important. With a better outlook that can be obtained by knowledge, unity and strength the better the chances of kicking cancer's ass until it runs home screaming like a sissy girl to it's mommie. ;)

xoxo

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Comments on "LiveSTRONG Day - May 13th, 2008"

 

Blogger glamah16 said ... (4/24/2008 8:50 AM) : 

I'm salivating and wish this would be my lunch today.

 

Blogger Valerie Harrison (bellini) said ... (4/24/2008 10:50 AM) : 

Thank you for participating in LiveStrong Day as well. Both of these events you mention are worthy of our notice...the dish looks darn good as well:D

 

Blogger liberal foodie said ... (4/24/2008 1:00 PM) : 

this looks great. mmmm I just got two ears of corn at our kroger too. I'll make this! it'll be a good relish for a turkey burger.

 

Blogger Sharona May said ... (4/24/2008 4:28 PM) : 

Sounds great and looks great, too!!
Sharona May

 

Blogger Sara said ... (4/24/2008 4:52 PM) : 

corn done on the bbq is the best. looks great!

 

Blogger Deborah said ... (4/24/2008 5:13 PM) : 

Yum! That's all I can say!!

 

Blogger creampuff said ... (4/24/2008 6:47 PM) : 

Oh. My. Goodness.

I am so excited!!! Planting season is almost here. You MUST name your first San Marzano after me!!!!

Now to the post. You said it best. This is truly one of the most important events out there! As for your dish, you know that empty spot on the fork right in front of the corn? That's my spot. I'm hopping on right now. NOBODY TAKES MY SPOT!!!

 

Blogger Mary said ... (4/24/2008 11:00 PM) : 

OK, I'm totally bookmarking this dish to make soon!

I'm totally itching to begin planting my garden. I think spring has sprung too, but my mom and her husband are my migrant planters (there's no way I can plant my own garden right now) and they won't come down for 2 more weeks. They're master gardeners and tell me it's too early to plant.

 

Blogger Veron said ... (4/25/2008 4:04 PM) : 

This looks simply delicious. I cannot wait to see corn back in the supermarket too.

 

Blogger MyKitchenInHalfCups said ... (4/25/2008 10:03 PM) : 

Yes, there is so much hope in the yellow sunshine!
Your recipe holds no hope for me, I can see from your photos and words there is an absolute guarantee . . . this is a totally lovely relish!

 

Blogger MyKitchenInHalfCups said ... (4/25/2008 10:03 PM) : 

Yes, there is so much hope in the yellow sunshine!
Your recipe holds no hope for me, I can see from your photos and words there is an absolute guarantee . . . this is a totally lovely salsa/relish!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (4/26/2008 9:42 AM) : 

Awesome colours cobination with inspirational taste :)

 

Blogger Peabody said ... (4/26/2008 12:09 PM) : 

YUM, YUM. It is very Spring like indeed. I love all things corn.

 

Blogger Barbara said ... (4/28/2008 7:10 AM) : 

A lovely post Lis. Thank you for your kind words. Love the corn dish - so healthy and a beautiful colour. Thank you for supporting LiveSTRONG Day With A Taste Of Yellow.

 

Blogger Kimi said ... (5/02/2008 11:03 AM) : 

Hi! I gave your blog and Excellent Rating! If you would like to get the badge and pass it on to others, just visit my post!

 

Blogger Shelby said ... (6/15/2008 5:14 PM) : 

Totally awesome photos! I will be bookmarking this!

 

Blogger Pam said ... (6/15/2008 6:46 PM) : 

Great pictures and the food looks so tasty.

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (6/24/2008 11:17 AM) : 

mmmm glad i found this recipe! i pulled pork chops out of the freezer for dinner tonight and couldn't decide which recipe to go with...until i found yours! can't wait!

 

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