Happy July! This year has been a little unusual to say the least. The COVID-19 virus has taken a toll this year. For a while longer we have to be content to stay closer to home and entertain ourselves the best we can. I really miss going to the movies and can’t wait until that is a reality again.

In the meantime, the summer fruits and vegetables are abundant and have been amazing so far. The cherries and the peaches are incredible and the corn and zucchini are starting to show up. I haven’t been in the mood to cook a lot lately, so here is an easy recipe for corn salad that can also be used as a salsa for grilled meat or with pita chips or tortilla chips. Speaking of corn, I pinned a recipe for butter bath corn on my Pinterest board under recipes. Take a look. You boil ears of corn in butter and milk. I haven’t tried this yet, but I am sure going to.

I also tried these blueberry cheesecake cookies, because they sounded so good. They were a little different and were delightful with a cup of coffee. Enjoy the summer, wear a mask and let’s hopefully get through this year.

Summer Corn Salad

5 ears of corn, baked, boiled or grilled

1 tomato, seeded and diced

1 small red onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 lime, juiced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Remove cooked corn kernels with a knife and place in a large bowl. Add diced tomato, onion and bell pepper. Toss to combine. Add lime juice and olive oil. Stir in cilantro then season with salt and pepper. Serve right away or cover and refrigerate.

This recipe was at the website; life-in-the-lofthouse.com.

Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2-teaspoon baking powder

1/4-teaspoon baking soda

1/8-teaspoon salt

1-cup sugar

10 tablespoons butter, softened

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/3-cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

4 ounces cream cheese, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and frozen

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside. Beat sugar and butter until creamed together, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extracts and just combine. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture alternating with 1/2 of the sour cream. Add the next 1/3 of the flour mixture and the other 1/2 of the sour cream. Then just combine the last 1/3 of the flour mixture. Gently fold in the blueberries and the cream cheese. Drop by 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto the cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on the sheets, then remove to wire cooling racks to cool. (When the cream cheese is almost frozen, make sure to cut it into small pieces before freezing totally.) This recipe came from the website; allrecipes.com.