heirloom tomato, grilled corn and black bean salad

     After being out of town for over a week, I was anxious to return to some form of familiar routine. I adore the excitement and discovery of traveling, but there really is no place so sweet as your very own homestead. So as luck would have it, we returned home the evening before our weekly farmers' market.

     One of my FAB market finds was four plump heirloom tomatoes... locally grown, vine-ripened and full of promise. My brother-in-law stopped by with a sack overflowing with sweet bi-color corn and a bunch of cilantro. We grilled the corn for dinner last night, seasoned simply with butter, salt, pepper, garlic powder and fresh chopped cilantro. Five ears remained. Armed with an abundance of lovely veggies, I came up with this salad.
     Patriotic red tomatoes, vivid green cilantro, soft, buttery yellow corn, coal-colored beans and whitish-pink onions with charred tips show off the bold colors of summer produce. Grilled and raw veggies tossed together in the simplest of vinaigrettes allows all textures and flavors to shine.

Ingredients
5 ears fresh corn, still in husk
butter
garlic powder
1 medium onion, sliced
1 shallot, sliced
1 t. olive oil
a few pinches of salt
a few pinches of pepper
4 large heirloom tomatoes, cut into large chunks
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
juice of half a lime
juice of half an orange
1 t. sweet wine vinegar, such as balsamic
1 t. red wine vinegar
1 t. sugar
3 T. good, rich olive oil

Directions
Preheat charcoal or gas grill.
An easy way to speed up cooking your corn on the cob and make it easier to shuck, is to place an un-shucked ear in the microwave and cook it for one to one and a half minutes, depending on the size. Do this with all five ears. Allow to cool for a minute, so you can handle them, then slide the husk and silks right off. Now, wasn't that easy?
Next, cut five small pieces of aluminum foil, just large enough to securely wrap each ear. Smear a thin stripe of softened butter down the center of each piece of foil, then generously sprinkle the butter stripe with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Place an ear of corn on each and roll up tightly. Place corn on grill over low heat. If using charcoal, you can push the coals to one side and place the corn over the opposite side, creating an indirect heat source. When corn has been on grill for around 20 minutes, pull one off and check to see it it is beginning to char. If so, remove them all and cool. Otherwise leave it a few minutes longer.
Toss onion and shallot with oil, salt and pepper. Grill over direct heat until softened and charred. (I do this to intensify the flavors and reduce the gassy effects of raw onion.) Remove and allow to cool.
While the corn and onions are on the grill, cut the four large tomatoes and place into a large salad bowl. Drain and rinse the beans. Add them and the chopped cilantro to the tomatoes. Salt and pepper everything well, then toss about with a large spoon.
Mix the two fruit juices, vinegars, oil, sugar and a couple pinches of salt and pepper in a small bowl & whisk to blend. After tasting to correct seasonings, pour over tomato bean mixture.
When corn is cool enough to handle, stand an ear over a cutting board and run a sharp knife down one side to remove the kernels. Repeat, moving cob in a circular fashion until it is completely stripped. Repeat with remaining ears. Add corn and cooled onion/ shallots to salad bowl. Taste again for seasoning. Add more olive oil, salt, pepper or sugar if needed. Allow to chill in refrigerator until ready to serve. Can be served at room temperature.

     We thoroughly enjoyed it for lunch today, served it with a bit of leftover grilled chicken, thinly sliced and perched on top. Since the recipe made enough to feed the entire neighborhood, we will probably get a few more meals out of it. I'm okay with that. Burgers, steaks, grilled fish or even ribs... All would be just fine to pair with the leftovers.