Most people my age have taken up yoga. While I do love yoga, I took up boxing ten years ago instead. Think boxing is not a sport for women? Think again. I tried it during one of my training sessions and fell in love with it! I found a trainer who is a professional boxer. He put an ad in our local paper and I was there in a flash. I wanted to learn the sport from the very beginning and work my way up. Now I look at boxing very differently than I used to.

When looking at a fight, most women (my-former-self included), would just see two people hitting each other hard and fast. At first, I could not bear to watch it. It was way too brutal for me.

From the moment I slipped my hands into boxing gloves, however, I was hooked. As I learned the sport, step by step, I realized there is a dimension to it that is very empowering, especially for a woman. The skill and endurance it takes to become a boxer is astonishing. It is a sport, with difficult, fine-tuned techniques that can be learned with the right trainer.

It was very challenging to learn, but with each phase, I slowly advanced to a level I am now proud of. Each 3-minute round still takes my breath away, but I can endure it, and I feel a great sense of accomplishment in that. For me, boxing has gone from a ghastly punching match to an art that, like any other art, takes extreme skill, persistence and fortitude.

That being said, I do try to stay in shape and eat healthy. Boxing has taught me that the human body is like a machine, and food its fuel. Salads are not my preferred dinner of choice unless it has some good nutrients and protein in it. This salad has all the ingredients needed to have as a hearty main dish, but I served it as a side with a protein as the main dish.

This salad is definitely blog-worthy, mainly because the ingredients blend so well together. The fresh corn and tomatoes add sweetness to it, while the potatoes make it hearty and satisfying. The wild baby arugula gives it a nice bitterness and fresh kick. The dressing is the perfect topping, it is light with a little bit of tang. My family loved it and I know you will too!

This recipe will serve 4-6 people who will change their perception of salad for dinner, just as I changed mine of boxing.

Ingredients for Lazy Day Corn Salad with Grape Tomatoes

1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels, cooked (about 3 ears of corn)
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
10 small red potatoes, cooked and halved
2 cups wild baby arugula
1/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled

For the vinaigrette:

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. sugar
Salt and pepper to taste 
1/2 cup of good olive oil

Make the Salad:

Drop the corn into a large pot filled with boiling salted water.

Add 4 tsp. granulated sugar to water.

Cover the pot and let the water return to a boil again, then turn off the heat and keep the pot covered.

After about 3 minutes, remove and let cool.

Return water to a boil. 

Drop red potatoes into pot and turn heat to medium-high.

Cover and let cook for 20-25 minutes, or until you can easily pierce potato with a fork.

Remove from pot and let cool.

In the meantime, make the dressing.

Make the Vinaigrette: 

Place first five ingredients in a medium bowl.

Slowly drizzle in olive oil and whisk to mix well

In a large bowl, toss arugula with 1/2 of the dressing.

Place arugula on a serving platter.

Put it all together:

Arrange tomatoes on top of arugula.

Cut the corn off the cob.

Cut the potatoes in half.

Arrange both on top of the arugula.

Sprinkle blue cheese over salad.

Pass the remaining dressing at the table.

It’s that simple!

More beautiful flowers blooming in my garden!