Recently my friend Judy from Noank called and asked if I’d like to pick basil. It couldn’t have been a better time, since I had just one packet of pesto in the freezer, left over from last summer.

Evidently, this has been a wonderful time for gardeners, with people home tending vegetable and herb gardens. I cut enough basil to pesto to last until mid-winter, and Judy promised me I could pick often.

She also asked me to take some catnip, its bush so enormous it would take three people to hug (which, of course, we did not).

On my way home, I stopped at BJs to buy pignoli nuts, but they were out.

At home, I ordered a pound of pine nuts via Amazon, but the delivery date would be another week. The basil would not wait, so I used toasted walnuts, along with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and freshly ground parmesan. The kitchen smelled gorgeous.

The next day I visited friends in Mystic, also distancing, in their beautiful yard. Their son handed me a container of spices his aunt had brought him from India. That evening, even after I went to bed, the aroma of basil and Indian spices was heavenly.

I am thinking of other great smells of summer in my kitchen. We may not have local tomatoes for another few weeks, but corn from farms outside Hartford will be here sooner, and I thought about corn salad with fresh herbs. My late friend, Candy Green, a superb cook, made this salad every summer. I will make it as soon as sweet corn is available, with just-OK grape tomatoes and lots of herbs now at our farm stands.

Candy’s Avocado, Tomato, Corn and Cilantro Salad

Serves 2 as a main dish

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 ears of very fresh sweet corn, husked

about 1 teaspoon sugar

cayenne pepper, to taste

1 small steak, about 3 to 4 ounces

iceberg lettuce

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

2 avocados, halved, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks

juice of 1 or 2 limes

fresh chopped cilantro, to taste

salt and pepper, to taste

Place olive oil in skillet and heat. Cut the kernels and place in skillet and add sugar and cayenne, to taste (begin with a dash of cayenne and taste; add if you want it spicier). Saute until hot; place in a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.

In the meantime, saute the steak (you can use the same skillet you used for the corn) until slightly charred on each side (for rare to medium-rare). Remove from skillet and allow to cool (the steak will continue to cook so try not to overcook the meat).

In an attractive bowl, place iceberg on the bowl, so it looks like a nest. In a stainless or glass bowl, add sweet corn, grape tomatoes and chopped avocados; squeeze lime juice. Mix gently, then add salt and pepper to taste. Add cilantro and toss.

Thinly slice the cooled steak and place atop the salad. Serve at room temperature.

On the Side

Many of us are in summer mode, grilling outside on yards, patios and porches. I read lots of food magazines, but my go-to favorites are burgers and, for dessert, grilled stone fruit.

I am wary of ground meat that comes to supermarkets or warehouse stores in bulk, because I like my burgers very rare. When I went to Shop-Rite recently, I asked a butcher to grind up a chuck roast and he said they are not doing it these days. I sighed and said my burgers will have to wait, I guess.

He then said they grind hamburgers every day. So I bought three pounds, came home and made them into burgers to freeze. I like them so rare that I grill them frozen.

Shop-Rite

Many on the Connecticut shoreline

Lee White lives in Groton. She can be reached at leeawhite@aol.com.