Grilled corn, juicy tomatoes, crunchy romain and smokey paprika aioli make this Southwestern Grilled Corn Salad an absolute summer flavor powerhouse.

It’s funny, every summer it’s like I’ve forgotten just how good fruits and veggies can taste when they’re fresh and in season. A juicy red strawberry in July? Wild rich purple blackberries in August. Freshly picked heirloom tomatoes from Bartlett’s farm? Giiiirl – guuuuuurl. You just can’t compare a tomato in January to a tomato in July. It’s apples to oranges or should I say tomatoes to tomatoes.

Over the years, I’ve tried to focus on seasonality when I’m grocery shopping, or at least pay attention to it. When I was in college I participated in a CSA (which stands for Community Supported Agriculture). Basically every week, I’d go to the farmers market with my tote bag and was allowed to fill it with whatever they had. I learned about so many new seasonal veggies and it was event the catalyst for my delicata squash obsession. The point is, while you could look at seasonality like you’re losing out on a lot of things when they go “out of season,” you can also flip that mentality and start to focus on the joy of discovering new produce that you may have passed by before.

This little seasonal veggie conversation had me thinking a lot about not just eating seasonally but appreciating the seasonality of a lot of different aspects of life. For better or worse, I tend to focus on the future a lot. Not just all the good that could happen but also what I might lose. Sometimes I jam on my planner (Parks and Recs reference) so hard that I forget to actually enjoy what I planned. Rather than savor every bite of the strawberry I’m eating in July I think about when I won’t have them in October. Rather than savor the memories I’m making with the people I love every day I think about how much I’ll miss them when I move in November. I’m stressing over the strawberries.

But the reality is, if I just enjoyed the strawberries and allowed myself to believe in the abundance that each season brings I’d also be able to savor each bite of a September apple and bask in the glory of the first snow in December and revel in the miracle that are the trees blossoming in April. Each season of the year, and subsequently in our lives, will have its unique miracles and challenges.

In each season, I am trying harder and harder to stop myself from saying “I can’t wait until…” Because the truth is, you can live your whole life “can’t waiting” or wishing or planning or even trying to enjoy a mealy tomato in January when it’s not meant to be. But I don’t want to be a wisher away-er. I don’t want to force something out of its season. I want to be both content about the present and optimistic for the new challenges and opportunities that will inevitably come.

[Tweet “Cheers to embracing the seasons of produce and seasons of life”]

Southwestern Grilled Corn Salad

Your Turn:

• What’s your favorite summer produce?