Sweet Corn
We're having our first sweet corn of the season this evening....Mmmmmm. My philosophy about eating fresh sweet corn with a meal is the same as my Aunt Gladys's was: you really don't need anything else to eat except the sweet corn with butter and salt. (Although a grilled hamburger and slices of tomatoes from the garden are a good accent:)
Growing up on a farm in northeast Colorado, the first sweet corn was often ready for my birthday dinner on August 11...maybe that's why sweet corn is so high on my list of favorite foods.
Even this afternoon as I sat on our deck "shucking" the corn, I thought of my Dad. He always planted some rows of sweet corn in the fields, and everyday during the sweet corn season he would go to the field to pick the corn...often taking along several relatives who happened to be visiting the farm or working there during the summer.
Then he'd park his pickup under the shade tree, and sit on the tailgate shucking the corn with warm conversation with any who happened to be sitting there with him.
We ate sweet corn everyday for a week or two, and one afternoon during the peak of the season would be the time to "put up" the corn for the winter. We would make an assembly line in Mom's kitchen. Dad would shuck, and in the kitchen my Mom, my sister Karen, and quite often Aunt Gladys and any other relatives around at the time would take turns boiling, icing, and then cutting the corn off the cob. Then we would freeze it in little pint or quart containers...this was before the time of zip lock freezer bags. Mom had some kind of little waxy quart boxes that we used. When done, we often had cold watermelon for a relaxing treat.
Even now, I have boiled some of today's sweet corn for "putting up" for the holidays and special days and whenever our son-in-law comes to visit, as he loves sweet corn as much as I do. Right now the corn is "blanching" in icy water in the sink. As soon as I hit the "post" button, I'll head into the kitchen and start cutting it off the cob. I'll freeze it in quart zip-lock bags, eat as much as possible in between, and every bite will take me back to my country home in Fairfield.
Growing up on a farm in northeast Colorado, the first sweet corn was often ready for my birthday dinner on August 11...maybe that's why sweet corn is so high on my list of favorite foods.
Even this afternoon as I sat on our deck "shucking" the corn, I thought of my Dad. He always planted some rows of sweet corn in the fields, and everyday during the sweet corn season he would go to the field to pick the corn...often taking along several relatives who happened to be visiting the farm or working there during the summer.
Then he'd park his pickup under the shade tree, and sit on the tailgate shucking the corn with warm conversation with any who happened to be sitting there with him.
We ate sweet corn everyday for a week or two, and one afternoon during the peak of the season would be the time to "put up" the corn for the winter. We would make an assembly line in Mom's kitchen. Dad would shuck, and in the kitchen my Mom, my sister Karen, and quite often Aunt Gladys and any other relatives around at the time would take turns boiling, icing, and then cutting the corn off the cob. Then we would freeze it in little pint or quart containers...this was before the time of zip lock freezer bags. Mom had some kind of little waxy quart boxes that we used. When done, we often had cold watermelon for a relaxing treat.
Even now, I have boiled some of today's sweet corn for "putting up" for the holidays and special days and whenever our son-in-law comes to visit, as he loves sweet corn as much as I do. Right now the corn is "blanching" in icy water in the sink. As soon as I hit the "post" button, I'll head into the kitchen and start cutting it off the cob. I'll freeze it in quart zip-lock bags, eat as much as possible in between, and every bite will take me back to my country home in Fairfield.
posted by weso at 1:45 PM
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