Pinterest and Toasted Sweet Corn + Avocado Salsa

So last night I kind of got annoyed by something. It happens.

More frequently than I'd like. I'm working on it.

I kept hearing about Pinterest. Pinterest, Pinterest, Pinterest. How everyone is obsessively pinning their lives away. Heck, even some of my own blog posts were pinned on there!

Of course I wanted to start pinning. I had requested an invite like...at least a month ago after so many bloggers were posting about their love for the site/service. {Can we pause here for the obnoxiousness of having to 'request an invite' to use a website? Really?} But I never received anything. Not a word. Was I not Pin-worthy?! Suddenly I was filled with self-doubt, anxiety and rapidly creeping into the depths of self-loathing {ok, that might be mildly overdramatic...}

Anyhow, last night I finally re-requested an invite and Tweeted my disappointment on being excluded by Pinterest. Low and behold, I woke up this morning to an invite. Perhaps my email address went unnoticed. Perhaps I blacked out and never entered it the first time. But the point is that now I'm finally on Pinterest and can't wait to start spending time that I don't have on there! Weeee! Are any of you on Pinterest? Anyone with a similar experience? If you are on, are you liking it? In truth, I am super excited to get started catalogging all of my loves and finding new, fabulous things. And to be included with the cool kids, of course.

{I hope you are catching my sarcasm here} :)

Anyway.

As a side note, I'm starting to get obsessed with summer foods. Particularly salsa. But not necessarily the traditional kind. After I devoured some of the fresh fruit salsa that I made last week (and used the rest in a smoothie! I will show you soon!), it was like a salsa-driven fire was lit inside of me and it's all I can think about. Salsa, salsa, salsa.

So I decided to test one out by combining some fresh, summery ingredients. First in the mix...fresh corn! Oh how I love thee. Next up? My new love...avocado! I'll admit it. I hadn't worked with avocados in the past because I was afraid of the giant pits in the center. I mean, really, what is up with those?

I'm so glad I took the plunge. This salsa/dip is so flavorful, so fresh and just all around...dare I say it...perfection. Last night I even baked up some whole wheat tortilla chips so that I could guiltlessly have some.

 Toasted Sweet Corn + Avocado Salsa
2 ears of corn
2 ripe avocados, diced
1/4 C red onion, finely diced
1 tomato, diced, with seeds discarded
1 lime, juiced
1/2 large lemon, juiced
kosher salt
pepper
olive oil

Remove the husks from the ears of corn and cut off the kernels. I placed the corn standing up in a large bowl so as to catch the kernels. Next, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and add the corn. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook over medium heat until the kernels start to get browned, toasted and carmelized, about 7-10 minutes, tossing frequently.

Remove corn from heat and place in a bowl. Place the bowl of corn in the refrigerator so that it cools while you prep the other ingredients. Dice up your tomato...

...your onion

...and your avocado (I removed the flesh from the skin with a big spoon, then cut it up).

Place tomato, onion, avocado, and lemon and lime juices in a mixing bowl. Gently toss together, making sure that the avocado gets lots of the juice on it -- this will keep it from browning! And make it all taste fresh and wonderful to boot.

Pour into a small serving dish and enjoy with tortilla chips or pita chips!

Delish.

This salsa held up for a couple of days without browning or getting soggy. I hope you'll try it!

So what do you think? What's your favorite dish with avocado? With fresh corn?