I was seriously berated the other night by my fourth grader, then my fifth grader and finally my husband: “You mean, you haven’t told them about the corn?” They were drop-the-jaw shocked that I hadn’t shared with you quite possibly their favorite, quick and easy vegetable side dish: sauteed corn. We eat it at least once a week. I know: why haven’t I told you about it? Don’t you get started too!

I guess this side dish is so simple—and quite uneventful—that I forget how good it is (and easy to make is always good). Trust me, it wouldn’t land on our table so often if it wasn’t good. Of course I should share it with you: what was I thinking?

So, without further ado, the famed family corn:

Sauteed Corn
1 bag of frozen corn (10 or 16 oz is fine)
2 T butter
2 T olive oil
2 tsp coarse salt
2 tsp Italian seasonings (or fresh oregano, basil and/or sage piled in your palm, thinly cut with a scissors)

Put corn into colander in sink and rinse with lukewarm water to thaw; let drain. Heat sautee pan, with olive oil and butter, over medium heat. Add corn, with salt and herbs, and sautee for 10-12 minutes. Off heat and serve.

Well, it could be round 12. It seems pesto makes regular appearances in my life. Like a good dream that repeats itself with countless variations. There are so many versions of pesto, and how to use it, it is astonishing. You can find my recipe for basic pesto here, and cilantro pesto if you dare.Pesto lands in soups and risottos, on pizza and in pasta sauce. It can be found in calzones and sandwiches and pairs perfectly with eggs. It makes a good salad dressing and here, colorfully tops a Halibut steak for an easy-to-make entree.

Pesto Halibut
Halibut Steaks from 1/2 - 1 inch thick
1 cup Italian parsley
1 cup basil leaves
2 T lemon juice
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp Dijon
zest from one lemon
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan

Process/blend all (except Halibut). Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Place layer of pesto on top of each skinless Halibut steak. Place on grill/medium heat. Grill 10 minutes, or until flesh is all white/on the verge of white (it will continue to cook for a few minutes after removing from the grill). Nope, don’t flip it: pesto stays on top, no need to flip.

Other friends of mine around the blogosphere have great pesto ideas too:

• Myriam over at Once Upon a Tart makes Sunkissed Tomatoes and Goat Cheese Toasts.
• Heidi at 101 Cookbooks gives us pesto made by an Italian Grandmother.
• Elise from Simply Recipes delights us with Asparagus Pesto & Pasta.
• I love this: Alanna from Veggie Venture makes Beet Pesto!

I will warn you: whether this is round 12 or 4 or 42, this will not be the last round of pesto from me.

I paid $16.31 for a sliver of salmon yesterday. Just a sliver, enough for one, barely two if you piled the plate high with grilled veggies. Rice or couscous wouldn’t be a bad idea, either, since you won’t have the heart to leave any of the sauce behind. My upbringing, influenced by a Dutch heritage and parents of the Depression Era, was brimming with frugality and a hard work ethic. This translates to spending only what you need to, finding good deals and never wasting anything. Paying that much for a sliver of salmon is easily against ‘my better judgment,’ and a good measure of guilt went with its purchase.

Though for good measure, I gasped when a small piece found its way into the grill instead of onto my plate; and I ate every last bite.

To be sure, paying so much for a slice of salmon should be a compliment to my parents. A genuine hats off, suggesting that even a slice of salmon is worth such a price. My father sometimes went fishing for salmon, and took us as small children. We had salmon sprinkled through our lives, making occasional appearances on our table throughout the years. But we hadn’t paid for it, rather we had caught it—which somehow felt more accomplished—and the whole process took effort and patience. We were grateful for this pink colored flesh, this seafood that was served with grandmother’s special sauce, made exclusively by my mother (sorry: you have to wait for THAT recipe).

So while paying too much for a sliver of salmon may go against my grain, it became an overwhelmingly easy decision to purchase and prepare this salmon with deliberate effort and care, a bit of patience and an appreciation for memories it eschewed. It made more sense to savor this soy glazed salmon, to smile and toast this pink-fleshed fish and my hard working parents. And that very much goes with the grain…

…and of course I finished everything on my plate.

Soy Maple Salmon
recipe serves four.

1/4 cup soy sauce
3 T maple syrup
3 T Asian sesame oil
four 8oz salmon steaks, 1 inch thick
2 inch piece of ginger, minced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
scallions for garnish

Blend soy, syrup and oil and pour into shallow dish. Add the steaks in a single layer, turning to coat. Blend ginger and garlic, and rub into both sides of steaks. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, turning occasionally. Place marinade in small saucepan on stover, boil on high until syrupy, around 3 minutes. Light and oil grill; cook steaks 4-6 minutes a side over moderately high heat. Plate fish, pour marinade over and garnish with scallions.

Recipe adapted from Food & Wine, June 2007.

It is amazing to me that I haven’t yet shared this salad with you. Don’t you love unusual salads? Don’t you get a smidgen tired of serving the same salad over and over? How about when you look in your fridge and the green leaves shout out little to no inspiration?

I am always so happy to have a few good salad options. What to serve guests to tickle their palate, what salads make me come back for seconds, or cause me to skip dessert altogether. Salads that skip being a side and go straight to the center. This is one of those salads.

You grow up eating greens, you regularly serve the same leafy greens, your friends eat greens and so when you present an endive laden salad people are inevitably, wonderfully impressed. Then they taste it, and they too, opt to eat more salad and wave off dessert.

Other favorite salads of mine include pecan blue cheese and sizzling goat cheese. For a twist, you can insert lightly sugared walnuts in place of the toasted walnuts.

Walnut Pear Endive Salad
5 heads endive
1 cup walnut halves
3 T champagne vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 room temperature egg yolk
KS&CP (kosher salt & coarse pepper)
1/2 cup plus 2 T olive oil
6 oz blue cheese crumbles
1 red pear, thinly sliced

Cut off end of each endive, separating leaves. Toss in bowl. Toast walnuts in skillet over medium until fragrant. Place vinegar, dijon, yolk, KS&CP and olive oil in JAR: Shake it all about. Combine dressing with endive leaves, add cheese, walnuts and pears on top or to blend.

This month’s roundup of COTM is a testament to telepathy. Seriously: I kept Centerpiece of the Month a complete and utter, undisclosed perhaps remiss secret. Was I even hosting it this month? Did COTM get lost in the shuffle? I told no one, posted no where, advertised and proclaimed not a whiff, and yet a few lovely folks remembered, despite my lack of advertising. If I could take a picture of brain fumes in a vase, that would have been my centerpiece for May!

We are about to sell our home, I finally found a rental home, mapped and rerouted carpools, emailed teachers, planned vacation and packed boxes, lived through a car accident, and occasionally snagged a dose of late night television for some simple, well-earned, before-I-collapse-into-bed, eye candy. Between painting and caulking and tiling, scrubbing, priming and spackling, I forgot to snap a photo of a centerpiece…

…but Sandi, Myriam and Joy kept COTM alive. And with enough flare for those of us with too busy, head in the sand, eye’s half mast, food? Flowers? On the table? Leave it to:

Sandi from the Whistlestop Cafe who filled her table with gorgeous gardenias:

Myriam from Once Upon a Tart who in her busy-ness remembered to email a last minute bit of brilliance with her pink-inspired table topper:

And Joy from A Spot of Tea who nailed my weak spot with a centerpiece inspired with vintage glass:

I collect green and amber vintage glass, most notably goblets and cake plates (it is a weird fetish and I cannot seem to help myself). Though two summers ago I saw some pink pressed glass at a yard sale; to this day I wish I had bought it! But then again, where does one store all that glass? And what if you have to pack it all to move!? Thank you friends for inserting art and lovely table-tops into my life when I could not!

I hope your June tabletops are summer-inspired! Should we come up with a theme? Anyone? Thoughts? Ringing in summer?