Corn on the cob!

I had my first 2 ears of fresh, local corn on the cob last night. It is wonderful stuff! Accompanied a pan-fried steak, salad and home made bread.

We are very fortunate. There is a crew that starts this weekend that picks corn early in the morning in West Hadley, MA and gets it up here by noon. That will be until the NH corn comes in. They set up 15 minutes from here in a spot that catches the campers and other tourists coming up from the south. We are having some tonight with grilled steak, and salad with garden fresh veggies in it. Yum!

[Jenise]

We had our first local corn this week too, out of Eastern Canada. Made succotash!

We had the first ears show up at our Farmers' Market last week. Didn't get any then but I'm certainly ready for it.

We had our first local corn this week too, out of Eastern Canada. Made succotash!

Eastern Canada - local? I buy mine from a stand 1/4 mile up the road from me, but it's picked fresh every morning - grown on the Indian reservation about 10 miles away.

Kids, grandkids and us oldies playing on Lake Shasta today. Got up early, did spatchcococked, organic chicken with extra thighs...a Tuscan recipe from Ina Garten that we love and make often. Purple Peruvian potatoes, baby Yukon Gold and baby Red Bliss, with lots sweet and red onions, evoo, rosemary, sea salt, will be roasted until nice and golden, with a drizzle of balsamic to finish. Asparagus, just picked this morning, will go out on the grill with the chicken. A plate of marinated big red tomatoes and cucumber spears. I'll be coming home early to get the process going, and rest up!
Sorry, posted this in the wrong place...should have been in What's for dinner.

[Robin Garr]

We've had farmers' market corn for a couple of weeks, but it doesn't make Mary happy. She grew up on her father's dairy farm (in what is now suburban Louisville), and he grew field corn to feed the dairy cattle, so they ate a lot of it. With that as a guilty childhood pleasure, she can't stand the SWEET nature of modern hybrid corn, and mocks the names they give it, like "Candy Cane" and "Sugar Queen." She'd just about kill for some old-fashioned field corn, which is almost unattainable in the city any more, and thinks she might have have a lead on some through the owner of a local farm-to-table restaurant that's commissioning field corn for old-fashioned cornmeal.

We've had farmers' market corn for a couple of weeks, but it doesn't make Mary happy. She grew up on her father's dairy farm (in what is now suburban Louisville), and he grew field corn to feed the dairy cattle, so they ate a lot of it. With that as a guilty childhood pleasure, she can't stand the SWEET nature of modern hybrid corn, and mocks the names they give it, like "Candy Cane" and "Sugar Queen." She'd just about kill for some old-fashioned field corn, which is almost unattainable in the city any more, and thinks she might have have a lead on some through the owner of a local farm-to-table restaurant that's commissioning field corn for old-fashioned cornmeal.

Ah, a woman after my own heart. I occasionally see non-sweet corn (I think this is the season for it) but it's getting harder and harder to find.

[Jenise]

We had our first local corn this week too, out of Eastern Canada. Made succotash!

Eastern Canada - local? I buy mine from a stand 1/4 mile up the road from me, but it's picked fresh every morning - grown on the Indian reservation about 10 miles away.

Oops, Eastern BC! Bought it on their side of the border.

I love the sweet, white corn, and dislike the large kernal yellow corn that tastes like nothing. We get the best corn around here and it requires nothing more than some light charring on the grill....no butter...just eat. Last year, I discovered the pairing of corn, avocado and garden tomatoes in a fabulous salad. Such a great combo.

We've had farmers' market corn for a couple of weeks, but it doesn't make Mary happy. She grew up on her father's dairy farm (in what is now suburban Louisville), and he grew field corn to feed the dairy cattle, so they ate a lot of it. With that as a guilty childhood pleasure, she can't stand the SWEET nature of modern hybrid corn, and mocks the names they give it, like "Candy Cane" and "Sugar Queen." She'd just about kill for some old-fashioned field corn, which is almost unattainable in the city any more, and thinks she might have have a lead on some through the owner of a local farm-to-table restaurant that's commissioning field corn for old-fashioned cornmeal.

Growing up in New England I was exposed to two very distinct types of corn, one was called sweet corn which was the vastly superior for table use and horse corn which was grown for cattle. Some people ate the "horse corn" because it was a lot cheaper and in those days money was scarce.

[Robin Garr]

Growing up in New England I was exposed to two very distinct types of corn, one was called sweet corn which was the vastly superior for table use and horse corn which was grown for cattle. Some people ate the "horse corn" because it was a lot cheaper and in those days money was scarce.

Mary's family was middle-class, but her parents grew up in the Depression and had those values. They grew field corn on the farm to feed the cows, and it was good enough for the family, too. So for her it became a childhood pleasure, and who can argue with that? Plus, when you get the water boiling and then go pick the corn, it's all good.

I bought corn on the cob this weekend as it was coming fresh off the truck. I love the way fresh kernels pop when you bite into them. But, has anyone noticed that the corn is uncharacteristically sweet -- almost off-putting. I've noticed that about some carrots in the past few years as well. Are these two plants being engineered for more sugar content that anyone is aware of? If so, I need to find an heirloom source for both, as I am not a fan of more sugar in my food.

Local Peaches and Cream corn (white and yellow kernels on the same cob). Excellent.

I consider anything other than just salt as superfluous. And healthier than our friends, who toss a half pound of butter into the cooking water so that when it melts they can dip the corn in and as it comes out it gets covered with butter. They also had an unfortunate tendency to throw stuff like Lawry's seasoning salt on it.

Good corn doesn't need embelishment, IMO.

PS to Jenise - I'd be 'a-maized' if your corn was from La Belle Province!

... into the cooking water ...

I don't cook my corn on the cob in water. Nor do I roast it on the grill (well, occasionally). How I cook my corn depends on how many ears I'm making. I always leave the husks on. If cooking 2-4 ears, I've found the microwave is an excellent way to cook it. 4-6 minutes on high, turn the ears over, then, another 2-3 minutes, then let it rest for about 4 minutes. If I'm cooking many ears, I will place them in the basket of my turkey fryer, stalk end down. I put about 2-3 inches of water in the bottom of the turkey fryer, bring the water to a boil, put the basket of corn in, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes. In either case, it's then, peel the husks back to use as a handle (the husks cool quickly), remove the silk and eat. In my opinion, putting husked corn in boiling water does nothing but dilute the flavor and make corn tasting water.

My wife cooks corn in the microwave as well. She strips it down to the last layer of husk, and then zaps it for about 1+ minute per ear, with a little water spilled into the dish they are resting on. Turns out well!

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=YnBF6bv4Oe4&feature=youtu.be

The easy way to nuke corn on the cob.

That's a neat way of husking!

Today I went by the corn truck and they had a sign that said today's corn came from a corn field in MA that grows 25 varieties of sweet corn. I bought the usual three ears (two for me one for True Love). It turned out that one of them was all yellow. I haven't seen an all yellow ear of corn in decades. The usual suspect in these parts is bi-color, as were the other two. The yellow was just as sweet and yummy as the others. No idea what the variety might be.