barbecue season is coming friends. with a summer baby on the way, many a baby bbq are now on our late spring/early summer calendar and i am STOKED. i LOVE barbecue food. ALL of it. the messier the better and in preparation for all that grilling goodness, i’m working on my perfect summer side dish game.

one of my all time favorites is corn. white corn to be specific. it has such a juicy sweetness to it that i will chow down on it with no salt, butter or other corn condiments. now, if you do it up with this zesty avocado & greek yogurt sauce and some crumbled cotija cheese, it will BLOW YOUR MIND.

now, if you aren’t all about that mess, you can easily serve this corn OFF the cob by simply slicing the kernels from the ear of corn once you have finished cooking the corn. if you are all about eating with your hands, no extra step required.

elote style white corn

serves: 4

prep time: 5 minutes

active time: 25 minutes

total time: 30 minutes

ingredients: 4 ears white corn, (you could sub your favorite corn or whatever you can find) husks removed and cut in half. half an avocado, completely smashed so you don’t have any lumps. 1 cup greek yogurt. 2 tbs lime juice. .25 cup finely crumbled/grated cotija cheese. 2 tbs kosher salt. .5 tsp freshly ground pepper. .5 tsp turmeric. .5 tsp chili powder. .25 tsp cayenne pepper. 2 tbs cilantro leaves. nasturtium petals, optional. large pot of water (if you have room on your grill and prefer to grill your corn, you could do that instead of boiling. cook time on your grilled corn will be about 10 minutes on a hot grill as opposed to 25 minutes of boiling).

start by adding all but 1 tsp of the salt to the pot of water and get it boiling. combine the remaining salt with the pepper, turmeric, chili powder and cayenne pepper to make a spice blend. add the spice blend, the avocado and the lime juice to the greek yogurt.

stir until everything is well combined and you have a creamy sauce.

when your water is boiling, add the corn to the pot and cook till the kernels are tender (20-25 minutes). while the corn cooks, finely chop the cilantro and the nasturtium petals together and set them aside (nasturtium petals are a little spicy so they add great seasonal flavor and color to your corn).

once your corn has cooked, remove it from the heat and allow it to dry. if you are serving the kernels with out the ear of corn, now is the time to carefully (with a sharp knife) slice the kernels away from the ear of corn. lay your ears of corn or just the kernels on to your serving platter.

spoon the creamy sauce over the top of the corn. sprinkle with cotija, cilantro and flower petals.

serve hot and enjoy.

elote style white corn

serves: 4

prep time: 5 minutes

active time: 25 minutes

total time: 30 minutes

ingredients: 4 ears white corn, (you could sub your favorite corn or whatever you can find) husks removed and cut in half. half an avocado, completely smashed so you don’t have any lumps. 1 cup greek yogurt. 2 tbs lime juice. .25 cup finely crumbled/grated cotija cheese. 2 tbs kosher salt. .5 tsp freshly ground pepper. .5 tsp turmeric. .5 tsp chili powder. .25 tsp cayenne pepper. 2 tbs cilantro leaves. nasturtium petals, optional. large pot of water (if you have room on your grill and prefer to grill your corn, you could do that instead of boiling. cook time on your grilled corn will be about 10 minutes on a hot grill as opposed to 25 minutes of boiling).

start by adding all but 1 tsp of the salt to the pot of water and get it boiling. combine the remaining salt with the pepper, turmeric, chili powder and cayenne pepper to make a spice blend. add the spice blend, the avocado and the lime juice to the greek yogurt. stir until everything is well combined and you have a creamy sauce. when your water is boiling, add the corn to the pot and cook till the kernels are tender (20-25 minutes). while the corn cooks, finely chop the cilantro and the nasturtium petals together and set them aside (nasturtium petals are a little spicy so they add great seasonal flavor and color to your corn). once your corn has cooked, remove it from the heat and allow it to dry. if you are serving the kernels with out the ear of corn, now is the time to carefully (with a sharp knife) slice the kernels away from the ear of corn. lay your ears of corn or just the kernels on to your serving platter. spoon the creamy sauce over the top of the corn. sprinkle with cotija, cilantro and flower petals. serve hot and enjoy.

before i left for my canadian vacation, my friend lish and i got together to brainstorm about our summer events and to celebrate spring.

we set up a beautiful outdoor lunch complete with blooming eucalyptus table runners and lavender + grapefruit cocktails. all the food we cooked up was inspired by jenni kayne’s new book, pacific natural. and my favorite dish was a version of her mushroom and ricotta crostini.

i LOVE using lavender (if my logo wasn’t a dead giveaway) as a replacement for most dishes with rosemary. that light, floral herb is the perfect compliment to zesty red wine vinegar mushrooms and my creamy homemade ricotta cheese.

ricotta + lavender mushroom crostini

serves: 8 crostini

prep time: 10 minutes

active time: 10 minutes

total time: 20 minutes

ingredients: 8 slices of your favorite baguette. .5 cup homemade ricotta. 1 cup slice cremini mushrooms. 2 tbs butter. 1 tbs chopped lavender (you can sub rosemary if you don’t have any lavender). 2 garlic cloves minced + one extra clove to rub your bread. .25 cup red wine vinegar. .5 tsp kosher salt. .25 tsp freshly ground pepper. edible flowers for garnish, optional. baking sheet.

start by toasting your bread. place your baguette slices on your baking sheet and either toast them in toaster oven or baking them in the oven at 375 degrees F for 7-10 minutes. you want your toast to be a light golden brown.

while your bread slices are toasting, heat your butter over medium high heat until the butter is bubbly. add in your mushrooms and season with half the salt and pepper. toss everything well till the mushrooms are lightly butter coated. cook until the mushrooms get a nice brown, about 5-7 minutes, stirring about halfway through.

add in the garlic, lavender and the red wine vinegar. season with the rest of the salt and pepper and stir everything well.

cook until the liquid has completely cooked down. about 3 minutes.

once your baguette pieces of toasted, brush each piece of baguette with your garlic clove.

spread each piece with a nice layer of ricotta.

top the ricotta with your cooked mushrooms.

garnish with your edible flowers and serve.

xo, a

ricotta + lavender mushroom crostini

serves: 8 crostini

prep time: 10 minutes

active time: 10 minutes

total time: 20 minutes

ingredients: 8 slices of your favorite baguette. .5 cup homemade ricotta. 1 cup slice cremini mushrooms. 2 tbs butter. 1 tbs chopped lavender (you can sub rosemary if you don’t have any lavender). 2 garlic cloves minced + one extra clove to rub your bread. .25 cup red wine vinegar. .5 tsp kosher salt. .25 tsp freshly ground pepper. edible flowers for garnish, optional. baking sheet.

start by toasting your bread. place your baguette slices on your baking sheet and either toast them in toaster oven or baking them in the oven at 375 degrees F for 7-10 minutes. you want your toast to be a light golden brown. while your bread slices are toasting, heat your butter over medium high heat until the butter is bubbly. add in your mushrooms and season with half the salt and pepper. toss everything well till the mushrooms are lightly butter coated. cook until the mushrooms get a nice brown, about 5-7 minutes, stirring about halfway through. add in the garlic, lavender and the red wine vinegar. season with the rest of the salt and pepper and stir everything well. cook until the liquid has completely cooked down. about 3 minutes. once your baguette pieces of toasted, brush each piece of baguette with your garlic clove. spread each piece with a nice layer of ricotta. top the ricotta with your cooked mushrooms. garnish with your edible flowers and serve.