Summer Squash Confetti Salad

(Printable Recipe)

Yellow squash picked young and tiny is nicely sweet and perfectly paired with sweet corn and peppers in this cool, creamy side dish. It's a good salad stand-in too, already dressed with the perfect dressing that you may find yourself using on lots of other veg combos once you taste it.

Ah, if only this was sweet corn season this picture would be perfect. Alas, Del Monte Summer Crisp is the closest I can get at this moment. Fortunately, yellow squash is fairly easily available almost any time. Buy them as small as you can find. And I think the best and least seedy ones are the straight, rather finger shaped type. You'll also need a green bell pepper and purple onion. Don't substitute red bells here; they're sweeter, I know, but the bright green bite of this bell is part of what makes this dish.


To start, slice the 2 or 3 yellow squash lengthwise and then into thin halfmoon slices. If you find any that are seedy, chuck them in the trash bowl.
That's right, I tossed this entire squash because it wasn't worth using. Well, I did use the slender neck of it because that part was tender and clear of seeds.
Tiny seeds don't matter as long as the flesh is firm and a taste test proves out.

Drain the corn well and mix together with squash. We're going for about an equal amount - around one cup of each. To this, add 1/4 cup of finely chopped purple/red onion and 1/3 cup of green pepper. Toss all together and dress with the following, my secret weapon in the last minute, yet wildly irresistible, salad arsenal.

This will probably make twice as much dressing as you need, but it keeps well and you'll use it up, trust me. To 1/2 cup Miracle Whip (no substitutions!) add 1 Tbs White Vinegar, 1 tsp Sugar, 1/2 tsp Celery Salt. Whisk all together well.

I learned to make this special dressing from my husband's Grammy who was famous in our family for her coleslaw. This was coleslaw that ruined you for ever eating coleslaw anywhere else for any reason at all. The dressing was the secret of course. I have added the celery salt for this particular recipe but it's just as good without it.Start by adding only half the total recipe to the Confetti Squash mixture above and give it a taste. Come to think of it, double the amounts of all vegetables heretofore mentioned and just use all the dressing because you're going to need it if you decide to share this dish with anyone else! Bon Appetit!

THE SHOPPING LIST

3-4 Small Yellow Squash

Bell Pepper

Purple Onion

Miracle Whip

Celery Salt

SummerFest at the Food Network website is back! Once again, you'll find my foodie blogs on the Food Network along with other great food lovin' bloggers, offering up our best ideas for your Farmer's Market finds all summer long. Each week we'll be blogging together with the FN Dish to produce fabulous ways to enjoy your produce!  This week it's week summer squash, next week tomatoes. Check out these other tasty ideas for squash:

Jeanette's Healthy Living: Quick and Easy Sesame Summer Squash Stir-Fry
Cooking With Elise: Orange Summer Squash Bread
Feed Me Phoebe: Summer Squash and Cornmeal Cakes With Tarragon
Chez Us: Zucchini Pancakes With Minty Dill Crème Fraiche
And Love It, Too: Peter Pan Squash Spiced Oven Fries
Made By Michelle: Pattypan Squash and Tomato Frittata
Cooking Channel: Our  Top 5 Favorite Squash Recipes
Delicious Lean: Summer Squash Ribbons With Feta and Pine Nuts
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Summer Squash Chips
Ingredients, Inc.: Summer Squash and Kale Sauté
Thursday Night Dinner: Summer Squash Medley
Sweet Life Bake: Zucchini Fried With Tequila-Spiked Avocado Dip
Dixie Chik Cooks: Fried Summer Squash Parmesan Sliders
Healthy Eats: Summer Squash Any Way You Slice It
FN Dish: Cheesy Summer Squash

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