Yesterday morning my mom, her neighbor Kay, and I headed down I-83 to pick up her daughter from the airport. Laura had been in India for several months working with disabled children, and so despite being awake since Tuesday, Indian time, she had lots of stories to share as we drove home from BWI. Laura and I are only about 2 years apart in age and grew up playing together in the span of backyards between our houses. She has an incredible story of her own to share, surviving a really painful burn accident, but her love for Jesus and compassion for others just radiates out of her bright smile and joyful approach to life.
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As soon as Mom and I got back and ate a quick lunch, we started working on the corn crop she had brought over that morning. Pete had graciously husked it for us while we were on the road, and so all that remained was to cook, cut it off the cob, and store it in 1/2 pint freezer bags. It seemed like a small amount compared to what we've done in previous years, but we were both grateful it wasn't larger. After sitting for nearly 4 hours in a car, standing over a hot stove in a steamy (though air conditioned) kitchen, then sitting in the heat & humidity outside to eliminate corn juice being splattered all over the place...we were tired! After dinner I crashed onto the couch--literally--and hardly moved the rest of the night.
Here's some pictures for those curious about the process. Natalia really enjoyed moving (er--throwing) the cooked corn cobs from bin to bin to cool them off. Yum...there's nothing like fresh corn from the garden!
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Tonight we're going to go watch my home church's softball team play in the playoffs. Right now they're ranked in 2nd place. Natalia LOVES watching baseball, seeing some of Mommy's extended family, clapping and yelling "hit the ball guys!" Of course she also remembers that they sell "LOLLABOPS" at the snack bar! :o)
8 comments:
cute title. :)
Out of curiosity, how much did you pay for your corn? I didn't do a lot of corn this year yet b/c I kept waiting to get it $2 a dozen..just not happening this summer.
Also, you gotta get an electric knife..makes the process go so much faster, but your hand is buzzin' by the end of it. It was painful to see the pics of you shaving it off w/ a regular knife. Of course, you are probably a lot more experienced w/ this kind of thing than I am.
Actually, I didn't pay anything--Dad and Mom always plant enough to share with us kids. I just always help to get it ready to freeze since it's usually an all-day process. They plant a variety called "Incredible".
I'd be scared to use an electric knife!!! I'm much more comfortable using a paring knife for things, even more than using a veggie peeler.
Hope you find a decent deal on the corn somewhere! You may just have to come up here. :o)
I'm just curious if it's really worth all the hard work. It must be if you keep doing it, but between the planting, cultivating, picking, husking, cutting, cooking, freezing, then heating up to serve later, I am not picturing a return in taste that would make it worth my while. Now, straight from the field to boiling water, yes! Can you convince me otherwise?
Zo, I'll have to share some with you sometime...nothing compares. It tastes like it just came off the cob (up to a year later). It's always seemed worth it to us, because we share the work. And growing it doesn't require much if any maintenance--just good rainfall.
I'm with Krista...but, that could be the PA blood in us. I choke down store bought corn..even the frozen stuff. I think there's something to growing/harvesting your own food that is such a lost art, too, (even if it does turn out to be a little more costly in some regards) and something I really, really want to pass on a love for to my kids. I'm off to a rather slow, pitiful start, but I'm not giving up.
Krista,
I can almost taste the corn now. That is one of the things I love about going to Daryl's parents... corn from their garden.
Enjoy some for me!
Dana
Yum! What a great day of mother-daughter bonding...with some yummy rewards in the end. When can I come over for some corn salad? I have a similar recipe, and it's scrumptious!
Know all about this topic, ha ha! Oh my gosh, no frozen corn bought in a store COMPARES to corn you freeze yourself. It's so much sweeter an creamier! I don't even like to eat anything else!
I've never thought about using an electric knife. Good thought, I'd try it.
I don't know if I'll get to freeze any this year. We don't have enough room to grow corn. And with my parents situation, my mom doesn't have the time to plant and tend. I did do some beans last week.
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