Whole Kernel Corn Dip Recipe

Since it’s September, Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, it’s seems only right that I post the zippy Whole Kernel Corn Dip recipe that we first had as part of a meal served at the Ronald McDonald House at the Minneapolis Children’s Hospital during Ian’s longer-than-expected recovery from brain surgery at the beginning of this unpleasant journey.

I saw the corn and the peppers and the beans (black-eyed peas), and was expecting a very Mexican flavor. I scooped some of this “dip” onto a corn chip, and was surprised at the sweet and slightly tangy flavor experience. With a bit of sugar (can substitute honey) and no herbs and spices, you really just get the full flavor of the crunchy fresh vegetables in this “dip”, which also makes a great little side dish or relish.

I was so pleasantly surprised at the flavor of this “dip” that night, that I asked one of the volunteer ladies serving the meal if she knew what was in it. She quickly handed me her hand-written copy of the recipe they used when putting together that night’s meal, and I’ve been hanging onto it ever since.

Here’s my ever-so-slightly modified version –

Whole Kernel Corn Dip

2 chopped peppers (green, red, or orange, for contrast color!)
1 small finely chopped jalapeno pepper
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped  onion
2 cans whole kernel corn* (drained)
1 can black-eyed peas
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

Combine first 6 ingredients in medium bowl. Mix sugar, oil, & vinegar in small bowl, then pour into vegetable & bean mixture. Combine well and serve with favorite corn chips!

This is the kind of thing that would be great for a picnic, or maybe on a buffet table on a game day (football season, anyone?), and with all of those colorful vegetables, you’ll be snacking on some nutritional goodness you can feel great about!

*Corn tip – with the growing concern over GMOs, and the fact that corn seems to be one of the worst offenders on the list, corn is one thing I now try to buy exclusively organic. With cross-pollination, nothing is truly guaranteed, but in order to be USDA certified organic, a product cannot knowingly contain or have been brown with any GMO seeds. Yes, that means I buy organic tortilla chips as well. Eliminating, or at least greatly reducing the GMO corn we consume is one thing that makes me feel better about the foods we eat. Stepping down from my soap box now…