Joy in the the simple wonders of Fried Corn

When our one-and-only son shows up in town on a business trip and journeys out to stay with the parents, we don’t have to ponder long to hatch up a meal idea. Meat loaf, creamy mashed potatoes, fried okra, cornbread—his faves make menu planning a breeze. Just the simple things of life, over and over again, served amid the delight of having him home, even if for only one night.

Since sweet corn is plentiful in the grocery produce bins right now, a simple side to go with this simple meal was easy—Aunt Bonnie’s recipe for Fried Corn. My latest cookbook, Way Back in the Country Garden, presents this beloved recipe as it tells how she lovingly prepared it for Hubby after we first were married and she learned how much he adored it. Although it was included in the cookbook, I never had featured it in this blog, so the recent meal for our son gave me a great excuse to cook it again and to celebrate it here.

Eight ears of the freshest corn are shucked and the kernels removed. The cook mixes milk, salt, and pepper into the bowl containing the corn and in a heavy skillet melts 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) of butter. After the corn becomes tender from being “fried” in the butter, the cook stirs in eggs and lets the mixture cool. This makes a dish that’s wonderful beyond belief and can bring forth more admiring comments than can the fanciest, most ingenious side.

Hubby and I never sleep as sweetly as we do when loved ones rest under the same roof. A fulfilling meal and a good night’s sleep—thank the Lord for the simple things.

Fried Corn

8 ears fresh corn

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 tablespoons butter

2 eggs (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)

Cut corn from cob and add milk, salt, and pepper. In a heavy skillet melt butter. When skillet is hot, add corn. Cook until tender (this can take anywhere between 5 and 10 minutes). Stir occasionally. Remove from burner, add beaten eggs, and blend well. (Makes 8 servings.)

Love ya, summer! Thanks for treats such as this Pan-Roasted Curry Corn

The corn in our garden now is as high as an elephant’s eye—well, maybe not as tall as the tomato plants, which this year soar like skyscrapers, but from our patio we can see the tops of the stalks. Time to bring in the mature ears and see what we can concoct.

A most unusual recipe awaited me under the corn category in my recipe album. I’ve never thought of mixing corn and spinach or corn and curry seasoning, for that matter. But, as I’ve blogged about before, whether the emphasis is what to wear (i.e. my favorite fashion blogger’s feature on the Color Brigade) or what to cook, the trend seems to be toward mixing the previously thought unmixable. This season orange tones are being worn with fuchsia and green hues with purple and brown: unthinkable not long ago. So “odd-couple” food pairings rule the day, too.

I loved this recipe (from the Chickasaw Nation Nutrition Services) if for no other reason than it enabled me to use up a remaining half-bag of spinach in my fridge. I struggle with this: using a partial spinach bag for a salad and then having the remainder go bad on me before I append it to another dish. In Pan-Roasted Curry Corn, corn and spinach were a winning combo. The 1/2-cup tomatoes helped cut into my garden’s ubiquitous tomato supply; the curry was a terrific enhancement.

As the photo shows, I served the end result with tortilla chips, but I also could envision this as an accompaniment for grilled items such as fish or chicken.

The corn segment of our garden isn’t exactly thick enough to become the set for Field of Dreams, but we love the fresh kernels it can bring to our dinner table. Love ya, summer!

Pan-Roasted Curry Corn

1 tablespoon margarine

2 teaspoons curry

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 large ears of corn, with kernels removed from cob

1/2 cup tomato, diced

1/4 cup water

3 ounces (1/2 bag) spinach

1/2 cup reduced fat, sharp cheddar cheese

tortilla or pita chips (optional)

In a large pan melt margarine over high heat. After it foams add the curry and reduce heat. When the curry is fragrant, add the onion and stir. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until soft. Turn the heat to high; add the corn and tomatoes. Toss and stir until the corn begins to brown. Add water and spinach. Stir until spinach is wilted. Continue to cook until the corn is tender; then stir in the cheese. Serve alone or with chips. Makes about 5 servings of 1/2 cup each.

Southwest Skillet Corn and Zucchini makes wearin'-o-the-green a multicultural event

Son-in-law’s birthday lunch time had rolled around; of course something Irish had to be at the top of the menu list. With a birthday just two days after St. Patrick’s Day and with an Irish family heritage, son-in-law would always and forever be linked with the wearin’-o-the-green (his signature color, by the way). So without a doubt the legendary Irish recipe, Shepherd’s Pie, had to be the entree of choice. (I’ll blog about that recipe tomorrow.)

To make it a muticultural event, however (his wife did happen to be a Spanish scholar), I added a few dishes of other ethnic origins. Southwest Skillet Corn and Zucchini was a form of the Latin dish Calabacitas that I found while I performed an Internet search for something to create using fresh corn off the cob (www.seriouseats.com yielded this recipe for me). This dish almost outranked the wow! birthday dessert (to be featured later this week as well) in terms of popularity.

Southwest Skillet Corn and Zucchini involved sauteing the fresh corn, sliced zucchini, and chopped onion in a small amount of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat until the veggies started to brown. I added green chilies and garlic powder and then poured in 5 ounces chicken broth (either canned low-sodium broth or homemade). I simmered until the veggies were tender and then covered all with shredded cheese.

This made a dandy side dish that was colorful and flavorful and fresh-tasting. As I write this, I look toward my burgeoning early spring garden and envision the now-level brown dirt spot that’s been reserved for the corn ears. Before too many weeks we’ll be picking our own fresh corn ears when we want to replicate this winner of a birthday-lunch dish. Hooray!

Southwestern Skillet Corn and Zucchini

8 ears fresh corn

2 small zucchini, chopped

1 small onion, cut up

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

green chilies to taste (I used 1 tablespoon)

5 ounces chicken broth

salt (or salt substitute) and pepper to taste

3/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Steam corn until almost done; cut kernels from cob. In medium skillet heat olive oil; add corn kernels, zucchini, and onion. Cook until onion is translucent and veggies start to brown. Add garlic powder, green chilies, chicken broth, salt, and pepper. Simmer until vegetables are tender but firm, about 15 minutes, and liquid is almost evaporated. Top with grated cheese. (Just before I spread on the grated cheese, I transferred the veggies into a serving dish.) Makes 6 servings.

"Mint" to be--the persevering mint plant has some redeeming virtues after all

Words I never thought I'd hear myself say—"Did he really dig up all of it?"

All last year I wished the pesky mint plants in my flowerbed closest to the back porch would magically disappear.

Efren, who helps us with our yard, weekly--at my instruction--plowed most of it under, but almost immediately sprigs would begin peeking their heads up again--around the gladiolus, through the lantana, and under the hydrangea planted nearby.

No matter how many times we'd uproot it and turn the soil over and over again, before long mint springs would return to their habitat. (One Internet comment called mint the "demon spawn of all garden plants". Apparently I'm not alone in my frustration.)

"You can never get rid of mint," Efren finally told me by way of explanation. "It'll always grow back no matter what you do." Mint, indeed, seemed to persevere.

At first I mumbled, "Grrrr", at Efren's counsel . . . then I realized that his words, indeed, would preach.

Suddenly I began to see that nuisance mint plant in a different light. I'm at a stage in my life in which my heart's greatest desire is to PERSEVERE . . . to persevere in healthy living, to persevere with my gardening. to persevere in prayer, to persevere against some seemingly insurmountable obstacles I face, to persevere in seemingly impossible projects on which I'm working, and to endure in a host of other ways.

Recently, in fact, I underlined in my Bible the verse, We considered blessed those who have persevered (Jas. 5:11). It goes on to mention Job, by example, and cites his perseverance as a character trait to be modeled. Those who persevere are considered blessed, or happy.

My mint sprigs don't let any obstacle stand in their way--even another plant that has been put in the dirt over where they belong. They just keep nudging their way upward until victory is achieved. (One nontoxic suggestion I turned up: mix one gallon white vinegar, two cups salt, and a squirt of dishsoap into a well-marked spray bottle. Coat the mint plants liberally again and again, but don't expect it to ever work fully.)

Which brings me back to the comment I reported in my opening paragraph. This year as the garden started to materialize, I initially saw no mint sprigs. I asked my hubby what happened; he said Efren made a very thorough sweep of them as he got the flowerbeds ready for spring.

"Did he really dig all of it up?" I asked. Golly gee whiz, I did like to have an occasional mint sprig in my iced tea or lemonade along with using it for recipes that call for it. Besides, the fresh mint was fragrant as I passed the flowerbed near the porch. I wasn't actually ready for ALL of it to be gone.

I needn't have worried. Sure enough, before very many weeks, the mint again persevered. Although the amount was greatly reduced in number from last year, I had ample mint plants from which to prepare the Fresh Corn and Tomato Bruschetta Salad recipe that appears below. Mint is the ingredient that gives the Fresh Corn and Tomato Bruschetta Salad (recommended by Prevention magazine) its extra bit of pizzazz.

(Besides mint, this recipe utilizes freshly picked sweet corn, which doesn't have to be cooked but simply is cut from the cob, as well as tomatoes, green-onion tops, and sweet onion. It's a good source of antioxidants for the heart and lutein for the eyes. The dish also can be served as an appetizer spread on bread or toast.)

When I served my Fresh Corn and Tomato Bruschetta Salad at dinner one night last week, amid a sea of compliments, I felt blessed . . . or happy . . . indeed. Must have been "mint" to be.

Fresh Corn and Tomato Bruschetta Salad

2 cups cherry tomatoes or Roma tomatoes, cut into small sections

1 cup chopped tomato

1/2 up chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons copped fresh basil

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped green onion tops

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine corn, tomatoes, onion, mint, basil oil, vinegar, onion tops, salt, and pepper. Toss well.