Avocado Corn Salad

Memorial Day weekend. Nashville empties onto patios and fills up with charcoal smoke and I worked all three days because holiday weekends at the Waffle House are a gold mine of tips from people who've been drinking since noon. I made $340 in three days, which is the most I've ever made in a weekend, and I put half of it toward books for the fall semester and half toward the brake pads that Kevin has been begging me to replace.

Mama took the kids to Centennial Park on Saturday. She sent me a picture of Chloe standing in front of the Parthenon replica — Nashville's full-size Parthenon, because Tennessee is nothing if not ambitious and slightly confused — with her arms out like she owned it. Jayden was eating grass in the background. Typical. One child conquers ancient Greece, the other eats the lawn.

Monday we had our cookout. And by "cookout" I mean I grilled hot dogs on the little charcoal grill that came with the rental house — the kind that's so small you can only fit six dogs on it at once — and Mama brought her potato salad and I made baked beans from a can with some brown sugar and mustard stirred in and Chloe ran through the sprinkler for two hours and Jayden sat in the kiddie pool and splashed himself in the face repeatedly, laughing every time like it was brand new, because when you're fourteen months old, everything is brand new. Water in your face is hilarious. Grass is a snack. The world is a miracle.

Kevin FaceTimed from Fort Campbell. He was at a barbecue with his unit, holding a beer and wearing his dress uniform for some reason that he refused to explain. He pointed the phone at his buddies and they all yelled, "Happy Memorial Day, Sarah's kids!" Chloe waved. Jayden tried to eat the phone.

I thought about Danny today. I don't think about him much — I used that up a long time ago — but Memorial Day makes me think about service and sacrifice and the people who show up and the people who don't. Kevin shows up. He serves. He stayed in the military for sixteen years and counting. Danny couldn't stay in a house for nine. It's not really a comparison — the military and fatherhood — but it is, kind of. Both require you to be somewhere when it's hard. Both require you to stay.

I made a flag cake. Red, white, and blue. Boxed cake mix (yellow), Cool Whip on top, strawberries for stripes, blueberries for the star corner. It took fifteen minutes and cost four dollars and Chloe said it was "the most beautiful cake in the world." She's wrong — it was lopsided and the Cool Whip was melting in the heat — but she's also right, because the most beautiful cake in the world is always the one your mama made you, no matter what it looks like. I know that because Lorraine's cakes were always lopsided too, and I loved every single one.

Summer is here. I can feel it in the air, thick and slow, the way Nashville summers always are — like the whole city is wrapped in a warm, damp towel. School starts in August. Two and a half months. I have two and a half months of Waffle House tips and side gigs and Lorraine's help and determination to get from here to there. I can see "there" now. It's not just a guest check on the fridge anymore. It's a date on a calendar. August. I'm coming.

The baked beans I threw together that Monday — can, brown sugar, mustard, done — reminded me that the best cookout food isn’t complicated, it’s just there, on the table, in the sun, while somebody is running through a sprinkler. This Avocado Corn Salad lives in that same spirit: ten minutes of chopping, a squeeze of lime, and suddenly you have something that looks like summer and tastes like you planned it all along. Next year I’m making this alongside those hot dogs, because Chloe deserves a side dish as bright as she is, and Jayden will absolutely try to eat it off the ground.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 5 minutes | Total Time: 15 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

3 ears fresh corn, husked (or 2 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed)
2 ripe avocados, diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Cook the corn. If using fresh ears, grill them directly over medium-high heat for 8–10 minutes, turning occasionally, until lightly charred. Alternatively, boil in salted water for 5 minutes. Let cool slightly, then cut kernels off the cob. If using frozen corn, warm in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3–4 minutes until lightly toasted.
Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Combine. In a large bowl, add the corn, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro. Pour the dressing over and toss to coat.
Add the avocado. Gently fold in the diced avocado last so it holds its shape. Taste and adjust salt or lime juice as needed.
Serve. Serve immediately at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to 30 minutes before serving. Best enjoyed the day it’s made.

Nutrition (per serving)

Avocado Corn Salad — The Side Dish That Belongs at Every Cookout That Matters