DARCI HANNAH: It’s mid-September, and our farmer’s markets here in Michigan are full of delicious sweet corn. Sweet corn is such a treat, and the perfect accompaniment to any cookout. I’ve always been a bit of a corn-on-the-cob purest. Whether the corn is steamed, boiled, or roasted on the grill, I believed that on-the-cob, slathered with butter and sprinkled with salt, was the only way to eat fresh sweet corn. This tradition stems from my childhood. Every September we’d go to my Aunt Joy’s farm in Wisconsin for the annual Corn Roast. They grew so much corn on their farm and celebrated this wonderful crop during harvest. Truly, the annual Corn Roast, a place where relatives and friends gathered, was the highlight of late summer.
It’s been years since those glorious days of the family Corn Roast celebration. And while I still love a great ear of corn-on-the-cob, I have begun to branch out. This is mainly because some people in the family just don’t like getting corn stuck in their teeth, which is always the case with “on the cob” corn. I’ve begun making a corn salad, and I do have to admit that it just might be a tad bit better than the old way of serving corn. At least it doesn’t get stuck in your teeth, and that’s something!
Darci’s Delicious Corn Salad
Prep time: 25 minutes. Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
6 ears of fresh sweet corn, shucked
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced.
1 red pepper, diced
1 ½ large avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced
½ cup red onion, diced
For the dressing:
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
½ cup mayonnaise
Directions:
Cut the kernels from the corn cobs. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat, then add the corn. Cook on medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes until the corn is lightly charred. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Once corn is cooked, add to a large bowl. Add the cubed red pepper, avocados, and red onion.
To make the dressing:
In a small bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients until combined. Pour over the salad and gently toss until coated. Serve at room temperature or cover and chill until ready to serve. Enjoy!
You can print a copy of the recipe here!
What is your favorite way to serve and eat corn?
Darci Hannah is the bestselling author of the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series, the Food & Spirits Mystery Series, the Very Cherry Mystery Series, and two works of historical fiction, The Exile of Sara Stevenson, and The Angel of Blythe Hall. Darci grew up in the Midwest and currently lives in a small town in Michigan with her husband and two dogs. Darci is a lifelong lover of the Great Lakes, a natural wonder that inspires many of her stories. Passionate about family, dogs, food, baking, history, books, lighthouses, laughter, good conversations, coffee, and the paranormal, Darci feels especially blessed to have found a way to combine her interests in the stories she writes. It brings her great joy to be able to share them with you.
Connect with Darci at www.darcihannah.com
Instagram: @authordarcihannah
Facebook: @Author Darci Hannah
Murder at the Campfire Cookout
By Darci Hannah
Book #7 in the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series
ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!
When Lindsey Bakewell leaves behind her lighthouse bakeshop, her boyfriend, Rory, and her Newfoundland dog, Wellington, for a glamping trip with her mother in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the bears leave them alone—but a killer doesn’t. . .
Converting the old Beacon Point lighthouse into a bakery is as adventurous as Lindsey cares to get. Her mother, Ellie, a former 80s fashion model, likes her creature comforts even more—until she sees a business opportunity for her Beacon Harbor fashion boutique when she’s invited by the Mitten Kittens Glamping Club on a woodsy getaway.
Far from roughing it, the ladies will be warm and cozy in chic vintage campers. Ellie insists Lindsey come along to win the campfire cookout contest. Campfire cooking has come a long way from bacon and beans. Soon Lindsey is making pizza, berry cobbler, and gooey Carmelita camping bars.
But the festive spirit is soon dampened when a body is found in Ellie’s camper. It seems like an accidental death until everyone’s tires are slashed and it’s clear the glampsite has become a crime scene. With no cell service to call for help, it’s up to Lindsey to smoke out the killer around the campfire . . .
Because no one is out of the woods yet.
A Spirited Supper at Dundoon Castle
By Darci Hannah
Book #2 in the Food & Spirits Mystery Series
When chef Bridget “Bunny” MacBride got a role on the reality show Food & Spirits, she thought “spirits” meant cocktails. Instead, she’s cooking up dinners meant to tempt the departed to appear. And to her surprise, she’s discovered abilities to connect with the beyond—and crack murder cases . . .
Now that Bunny’s entrées come with a side of the Other Side, it comes in handy to have a grandma who’s friendly with the elderly owners of a haunted Scottish castle. During Bunny’s childhood she heard all about Dundoon’s bloody history and the “ghostly piper” who roamed the grounds—and soon she’ll be visiting the ancient place with her ghost hunter and psychic co-stars. The annual bagpipe competition in the late piper’s honor will make for some good footage as well.
After Bunny serves a feast fit for a 17th century king, including lamb chops with plenty of fresh herbs, she heads outdoors for the ghost hunt. But in the dark, dense fog, someone fatally plunges from the clifftop over the loch. The sound that follows is a mournful, otherworldly bagpipe . . . and once the body of another perished piper is retrieved, Bunny is determined to solve this Highlands homicide—and prevent a killer from getting off scot-free . . .
COMING FEBRUARY 23, 2027
A TOAST TO AGATHA CHRISTIE’S GHOST
By Darci Hannah
Book #3 in the Food & Spirits Mystery Series
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Chef Bunny MacBride has gotten roped into a ghost-hunting reality show called Food & Spirits, creating dishes to whet the appetites of apparitions. Along the way, she’s discovered she has some supernatural gifts of her own—and an eerie knack for solving murders…
The cast and crew are on Burgh Island, at a restored Art Deco hotel that boasts Agatha Christie as its most famous guest—and now its most famous ghost. They’re filming at a murder-mystery weekend, and Bunny expects it to be more kooky than spooky. But she’s excited to meet the renowned resident chef and delighted to run into her Granny Mac playing the role of Miss Marple. As a bonus, her romance with costar Brett continues to simmer.
The downside is dealing with arrogant guests like Buckley Thorne, who sends back her beetroot salad and demands whipped cream for her peach Melba. Then the show’s phony psychic, Giff, insists on playing Poirot, complete with an absurdly bad accent. When it turns out the victim role is assigned to Buckley Thorne, she feels a touch of satisfaction—until she realizes he’s doing too good a job of playing dead . . .
Shocked to learn Buckley’s true identity, Bunny has to change course once again from cook to crime-solver. She’d sensed an undercurrent of drama at the dead man’s table—and with help from the spirit of the world’s greatest mystery writer, she’s looking closely at the victim’s handsome son, much-younger wife, and elegant circle of friends to conjure up a solution . . .
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