Roasted Smokey Corn Salad
FOOD DESERT OASIS
It's always enjoyable to shop at a grocery store teeming with affordable produce and locally-made-in-DC products. It's even more gratifying however to discover this shop, open for business, in an area that is underserved, and often ignored by incoming grocers.
I took a tour of Good Food Markets last week, and was delighted to see a bounty of glistening produce, and shelves stocked with some of my favorite local products- Misfit juices, Michelle's Granola, Cherry Glen cheese, DC Central Kitchen's Fresh Start meals to go, to name a few.
Remarkably, the store is thriving and addressing a real need in the community. I saw a shirtless man walk up to the store in hopes of buying some watermelon. Because of food safety regulations, there's a strict no-shirt, no-shoes, no-service policy at GFM (it was also 100 degrees, so I understand where the customer was coming from), but Philip Sambol, the founder took the man's EBT card and change, purchased the melon and hand delivered it to him. I witnessed someone in the community going through great lengths to get a hold of their fruits and veggies- proof that there is in fact demand for healthy, fresh food in underserved areas. The store also holds monthly tours for children to teach them how to prepare the produce. All this to say that it's clear to me that GFM has a holistic understanding of the challenges that our communities face, and they're taking a non linear approach in order to advance their cause as a result.
Good Food Markets is improving many links along our food value chain - they're purchasing from local farmer's, they are educating the public on the benefits of healthy eating & getting communal buy in, they're creating a market for accessible and affordable produce, they're supporting initiatives like DC Central Kitchen's fresh start- their catering company that makes meals using salvaged and gleaned produce, thereby reducing from food waste. It was incredibly inspiring for me to see the positive impact that socially conscious businesses can have our on food system. Go there and support them!
Here's a salad that I made using the beautiful produce from Good Food Markets. Price per serving: $3.30.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 ear of corn
- 3 scallions
- 1 pint of cherry tomatoes
- 1 avocado
- 1 jalepeno
- 2 tbs. parsley
- 2 tbs. mint
- 1/4 cup of feta, crumbled
- 1 head of romaine lettuce
- 1/4 of a lemon
- 4 tbs. of olive oil
- 4 tbs. balsamic vinegar
DIRECTIONS
Heat the oven to 400. Husk the corn, and shave the kernels off of the cob. Place the kernels in a cast iron skillet and roast for 20 mins with olive oil, salt and pepper on top. When the corn comes out of the oven, sprinkle the corn with chipotle powder and smoked salt. Chop all of the remaining ingredient, place in a bowl and top with olive oil, lemon and balsamic vinegar.
