The Pesky Corn Parts

Just found this article on gilttaste.com....pretty amazing, I must say. I don't know who ingeniously thinks about creating these things but good for them.

Corny Ingenuity: Make Tasty Stuff from Husks, Cobs and Silk

Kernels all gone? Don’t snooze on husk butter, cob-smoking, and... just look at that fried corn silk nest

by Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander Talbot  August 9, 2011

As corn obsessives, the year’s first ears at the market—good or bad—always come home with us. But what begins as a trickle soon swells, and after our fiendish cravings are sated, we can start to get choosy—searching for heavy weights, smooth green husks, and shiny kernels; signs of the freshest ears. And then, too, we get a little more inquisitive and creative with the ears in the kitchen. Lately, we’ve been tinkering with the big piles of compost our obsession gives us: The stacks of cobs, piles of husks, and tangles of silk. While the kernels may still be best for eating, it turns out all the other parts have something delicious to offer, too. Here are some of our favorite ways to get sweet flavor and fascinating textures out of them. Finally, you can be as corny as you wanna be!

• Let’s start with the least obviously appealing part of all: The corn silk. For most people, these threads just kind of stick around annoyingly while you try to shuck. But it turns out that frying the corn silk produces a wonderful tangle of light crispness. Gather the light, clean corn silk from your shucking (cut off any brown ends). The trick is drying the strands completely in a dehydrator or a 175-200⁰F oven and then flash frying them at 400°F. If your oil isn’t hot enough the silks will be stringy and tough, but at high heat they are crisp, delicate and delicious. We love using them to make nests, garnished with a variety of fresh herb leaves and cradling a soft-cooked egg. You could also use fried corn silk as a crunchy garnish to eat out of hand or over creamed corn. Or wrap them around shrimp as a seasonal twist on the cruise-ship classic, coconut shrimp.

• Taking a cue from tamales, where dried corn husks add a mysterious sweet, aromatic flavor to the filling, we like to shred the husks from several ears of corn and make a thick bed in the roasting pan for chicken, fish and vegetables, which perfumes the oven with a clean, grassy note. Be sure to discard the outermost layers as they tend to be dirty and just use the tender, inner leaves. Or try stuffing the cavity of fish with shredded corn husks before roasting or grilling.

• Another great, unexpected product is husk butter. We julienne fresh husks and cook them over medium-low heat in butter until lightly caramelized and the flavors infuse the butter. (Use 2 ears-worth for each ¼ pound of butter.) The mild sugar of the husks lends a warm toasty sweetness to the butter, and gives a grassy, corn-y note to the finish. We strain out the husks and use the butter to gently stew freshly scraped corn kernels for fresh polenta. Or we make a corn husk hollandaise and slather it on freshly grilled ears of corn. It also works beautifully in corn bread and—our favorite—blueberry corn muffins, both in the batter and slathered on top.

• In a similar vein, we also love roasted husk-infused cream. Lay the husks out on a sheet pan, in a layer 2-3 leaves thick, and roast them at 300°F for about an hour, stirring occasionally, until they turn a rich golden brown. Then take those roasted husks and steep them, covered, in barely-simmering sweet cream; we like to use 2 cups of roasted husks for every pint of cream for a delicate corn flavor that doesn’t overwhelm. This cream can be used on its own or blended with sweet corn kernels for a more complex, layered flavor. We like it as the base for seafood and vegetarian chowders or as the base for corn puddings and ice creams.

• While you’ve got the oven on, you may want to make roasted corn stock. Roast corncobs—they take about 45 minutes at 350°F—and simmer them in water to cover for 20-30 minutes. To bump up the flavor, add roasted husks and the sweet corn silk and you will have a stock like none you’ve ever tasted before.

• Or you can use corn cobs like wood chips for smoking. Dry the cobs in a low oven (175-200°F) overnight or in a dehydrator for a few hours and use them in your smoker for a light, sweet smoke that’s just awesome.

"You Know What Happens When It Rains?..."

So Hurricane Irene is imminently approaching. If only "she" had access to Facebook and Twitter and who knows what else, this blog, she'd get a really big head. It's all anyone's talking about. At first I was nervous about being home alone and having the upstairs windows blown in - they comprise of two of the four walls.....now I think it's just going to be a heavy downpour.

This by far is my favorite.  Sums it up perfectly.

Where to meteorologists go for a drink? To the isobar.

Come on, Irene...

Let's drink Hurricane cocktails...

NYC evacuations and subway closures?


not really funny, but I think this is what people expect.

so true. 

And how am I supposed to straighten my hair without electricity?

BorowitzReport Andy Borowitz 

The language of weather forecasts is subtly shifting from "savage destruction" to "inconvenient wetness." #irene

Basically...

BorowitzReport Andy Borowitz 

Hurricane Irene has an amazing publicist.

From Nick

But hey, Sunday's market has been canceled and rain or no rain, hurricane or no hurricane, it means a Saturday night for me! And Juan Macclean is playing tonight at the Red Door! woo.

ps, to answer the question above.....YOU GET WET. 

Telling me I can do anything I want is like pulling the plug out of the bath and then telling the water it can go anywhere it wants. Try it, and see what happens.

A LONG WAY DOWN, NICK HORNBY

Pokey Cheesey Delivery

Text Conversation:

me: "what are you doing? going to the cheese shop?"

an hour later...

sc: "where you at?"

me: "mi casa."

sc: "meet me out front in 5"

me: "ok"

2 minutes later...

sc: "out front!"

sc: "come on pokey!"

me: "elevator"

sc: "about time!"

I expected maybe a walk to BNG for some coffee, maybe a walk even to the cheese shop but nope. Instead, the best doorstop delivery ever (ok, well, down the hallway, down the elevator, passed the theater foyer, down the front steps) : a bag cherishing Italian and Irish Cheese!! I am so happy right now, I just had to write about it to share about it - yes I am home alone, it explains a lot. A Tallegio from Italy and a Cashel Blue from Ireland - a favorite food from two beloved countries....wow. The real reason I asked SC if he was going to the cheese shop was 1. he has the day off and the cheese shop he lives by has weird hours and 2. I wanted to try the cambozola he keeps talking about -  a combo of soft French triple-cream cheese and Italian gorgonzola. But I'll definitely take the Irish and Italian cheese. Paired with torn croutons I made the night before, this is the most fantastic snack a sunny Friday afternoon, and a hungry girl, could ask for.

Torn Croutons:

* made with The Good Loaf's Sharp Cheddar, Fresh Basil and Cracked Peppercorn Sourdough, 

highly recommended *

Tear day-old bread into bite size pieces. Pour enough oil into the bottom of a large pan to cover the bottom and add 3 garlic cloves. Heat until hot and then add the bread in a single layer. If you hear sizzling, the heat is too high and the croutons will become too dry – the key is to slow cook them for about 20 minutes so that the croutons absorb the garlicky oil and become crisp and golden brown on all sides. Just TRY to keep your fingers away from these. 

Ratatouille with Black Quinoa

Every Sunday we go to Newburyport's Farmer's Market. For lunch, I usually go to Revitalive Cafe - vegan, gluten free place - for a quinoa bowl. I usually get their Mexi-bowl which is avocado, homemade salsa, lettuce, hot sauce and some vegan bean dip on top of quinoa. Last week, a young chef obsessed with our donuts stopped by the tent for a chat and we got to talking about quinoa and I realized how versatile it is. Any salad or anything can be mixed with quinoa. So, when I came across a recipe from Alice Waters for ratatouille I decided to mix it with some black quinoa I had. Delicious. and Healthy. 

Alice Waters' Ratatouille from The Art of Simple Food mixed with Black Quinoa

1 cup quinoa 1 medium or 2 small eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch dice 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more to taste  2 medium onions, cut into 1/2-inch dice  4 to 6 garlic cloves, chopped  1/2 bunch of basil, tied in a bouquet with kitchen twine + 6 basil leaves,chopped  smattering of dried chile flakes, or to taste  2 sweet peppers, cut into 1/2-inch dice  3 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch dice  3 ripe medium tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice  Salt to taste

Toss the eggplant cubes with a teaspoon or so of salt. Set the cubes in a colander to drain for about 20 minutes.

Put the quinoa in a small pot and cover with 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring to the boil then simmer for about 20 minutes until the water has evaporated and the quinoa is al dente/soft depending on your preference. Fluff with a fork and set aside. 

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot. Pat the eggplant dry, add to the pan, and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown and a bit crisp around the edges. Add a bit more oil if the eggplant absorbs all the oil and sticks to the bottom of the pan. Remove the eggplant when done and set aside.

In the same pot, pour in 2 more tablespoons olive oil. Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, basil bouquet, dried chile flakes, and a bit more salt. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes, then stir in peppers (if using). Cook for a few more minutes, then stir in summer squash. Cook for a few more minutes, then stir in tomatoes.

Cook for 10 minutes longer, then stir in eggplant and cook for 10 to 15 minutes more, until all the vegetables are soft. Remove the bouquet of basil, pressing on it to extract all its flavors, and adjust the seasoning with salt. Stir in the chopped basil leaves and more extra virgin olive oil, to taste. Pour in the quinoa and toss to coat. Serve warm or cold.

* I did not have any sweet peppers. Also, the tomatoes could probably be peeled for aesthetic reasons or personal preference. There were little strips of tomato peels mixed in, which is fine with me, but just came off as the small-diced tomatoes were cooking. To peel tomatoes, cut an x at the base of the tomato, blanch in boiling water then remove as soon as the skin begins to unfold. Dunk in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking (and for an easy to handle touch) then peel back the skin easily. 

"It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others. So it happens that when I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth and the love of it and the hunger for it… and then the warmth and richness and fine reality of hunger satisfied… and it is all one."
— M.F.K. Fisher (The Art of Eating)

What's in Season: Sweet Corn

Buying: Look for husks that are green and fresh looking - they shouldn't be too dried out. The silk should also be fresh looking. Peeling back the husks to look at the tip of the corn is a good indicator: the kernels should be full and evenly spaced. If you dig your nail into a kernel, the liquid should be milky. If it is clear, it is under-ripe, if it is thick, it is over-ripe. Organic corn will not be genetically modified, like many of the corns you will find in the grocery store. 

Storage: Corn is best when eaten right away before the sugars turn to starch, diminishing that sweet sweet taste. This is mostly true for eating corn right off the cob, within 24 hours, but after 3 days, corn will still be edible and tasty enough to cook with. Corn should be refrigerated with the husks still on. The husks will preserve that milky moisture in the kernels. Keep them in the crisper drawer without any strong smelling foods as corn will easily absorb those odors.

Medical: Corn is high in carbohydrates and fiber - chew chew chew. It is apparently a good reducer of cancer risks, heart disease, and tooth cavities. 

Fact: Sweet corn is the sweet variety of maize, which is the starchy produce used to make fodder and used as a grain. The sweet corn that we eat is an immature grain. 

Together, they are the third more important cereal only after wheat and rice. Over 500 different by-products can be used by corn....ever seen the movie King Corn? This also makes sense because corn is a staple in some countries in the form of tortillas, polenta or corn meal as well as snacks in other countries as popcorn or corn tortilla chips. 

I like it's scientific name, zea mays, its kinda like saying maize in a fancy accent.

Cooking: Shuck corn only before using by pulling down, cutting off the stem, and remove the silky threads either by hand or with a vegetable brush. If there is some worm damage - no fear - just cut out that part, the rest of the corn is still good. Wash the corn in cold water. To remove the kernels, place the corn vertically in a large bowl and run a sharp knife down along its length. If making a soup, or if you want some extra milky juice, run the knife down the length of the corn again, but with the dull back of the knife to avoid shaving off the cob. To freeze corn, blanch in boiling water for about 5 minutes, cool and drain then wrap in plastic or tin foil.

Tip from Thomas Keller: After you have removed the kernels from the cob into a bowl, place a smaller bowl of water next to it. Swirl your hand around the corn and the silk will stick to your hand. Remove the silk from your hand by dipping it into the bowl of water. Or running water would work too, I'm sure.

Recipes

Try corn raw; boil it in boiling water for about 10 minutes depending on how soft you like it, remove with tongs, slather with butter and sprinkled with salt; pull back the husks without removing, remove the silks, then pull the husks back up and soak for at least 15 minutes then grill corn in their husks, turning occasionally until charred about 20 minutes; creamed corn; corn bread; corn chowder; corn and black bean salsa; Silver Queen succotash; deep-fried corn fritters; roasted; sprinkled into salads....

Grilled Corn on the Cob with Garlic Butter, Lime Salt and Cotija Cheese

Heat the grill. Pull back the husks without removing them and remove the silks. Pull the husks back up and cover the corn.Soak the corn in a large bowl of water for about 15-30 minutes and then shake off any excess water.Put the corn on the grill, close the cover and cook for about 20 minutes. Remove the husks and roll the corn with garlic butter, sprinkle with lime salt and cotija cheese.

Garlic Butter: 2 sticks of butter, 8 garlic cloves, salt and pepper, blended in a food processer.

Lime Salt: 1/4 cup Maldon sea salt, zest from one lime put into a jar and shaken to mix

Cotija cheese is a hard, salty, grating cheese that doesn't melt when cooked - substitute Parmesean or feta cheese for other great combos

Cheese inspired by restaurants, lime salt from Thomas Kellar.

Do you twirl your corn and eat around the cob or lengthwise like a typewriter?

Stir-Fried Corn

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan and add corn kernels with a tablespoon of chopped ginger, a teaspoon of freshly chopped chili, a handful of chopped parsley, and a couple tablespoons of reduced-sodium soy sauce. Cook until the soy sauce sorta caramelizes so that the corn kernels are sweet n' crunchy. Incredibly easy and Incredibly delicious.

Inspired by Jamie Oliver

Corn & Basil Soup with Stir Fried Corn - two recipes in one dish!

Corn and Basil Soup

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 small white sweet onions, roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic

5 ears of corn, kernels removed

1 jalapeno, stem removed and chopped (optional)

a handful of fresh basil

1 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock

salt and pepper

Place the kernels into a blender. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat and add the garlic then add the onion and jalapeno. Stir to coat with the oil and saute until the vegetables are tender and translucent, about 6 minutes.  Remove from heat and add these to the corn in the blender. Blend until smooth, scraping the sides occasionally and pulse to the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the soup from the blender to a large pot over medium heat.  Stir until the soup begins to thicken and then pour in the stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Ladle into bowls and can be served garnished with a dollop of corn salsa! Serve hot or cold.

"Yo dude i heard you had a radical party last night." "Dude, it wasnt just any party, it was a.....tomato party" party in your mouth!

Ok...so I've been in the cooking mood and have loved inviting friends over all week to try to new recipes made with the seasonal vegs from the farmers market. Their enthusiasm and compliments of our vegetarian dinners only encouraged me to want to cook more. Unfortunately for them, they did not come over the night I made the following recipes. Fortunately for me, I got to eat it for the next two days.

I adapted the recipe a little bit from the Plenty cook book, because of the vegs and grains I had available. From the Exeter farmers market I got this awesome quart filled with baby eggplants, yellow blush tomatoes and red roma tomatoes with half a bulb of garlic from Jeff's New Roots Farm. He had a recipe to cut in half, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic and roast in the oven at 400 for about 20 minutes. I had also picked up a very ripe yellow and striped greed tomato and a green and a yellow hot pepper from Meadow's Mirth. There are so many fun colors, shapes, and sizes of tomatoes that this definitely is appropriately named a Tomato Party. Choose what you can find to get a variety of colors and textures. Fregola can be substituted for Israeli couscous (which I included as well) or just double the quantity of couscous and leave the fregola out. I think the texture of it is really fun and adds an addicting, satisfying bite. So I'll include my changes in italics below. 

 these tomatoes yell EAT ME

 3/4 cup whole wheat couscous

salt

extra virgin olive oil

2/3 cup boiling water

1 cup fregola

1/2 cup Israeli couscous

3 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, quartered

3/4 tsp brown sugar

black pepper

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 cup yellow cherry (or blush) tomatoes, halved

1 cup small eggplants, halved

1 cup small roma or plum tomatoes

2 tbsp roughly chopped oregano

2 tbsp roughly chopped tarragon

3 tbsp roughly chopped mint (I didn't have any but added dill)

3 garlic cloves, crushed (I roasted mine whole with the tomatoes)

1 small green tomato, cut into small wedges

1 yellow tomato, cut into small wedges
1 hot pepper

3/4 cup chery tomatoes, halved 

Preheat the oven to 325F. 

Put the couscous in a small bowl witha  pinch of salt and a drizzle of oil. Pour over the boiling water, stir to coatand cover the bowl with lid. Set aside for about 12 minutes. Fluff with a fork and leave to cool. 

Place the fregola in a pan of boiling salted water and simmer for 18 minutes until al dente. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold running water and leave to dry. 

 Meanwhile, spread the quartered vine tomatoes and garlic over half of a large baking pan and sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper. Drizzle over balsamic and olive oil. Place in the oven. After about 20 minutes, remove from the oven and increase the temperature to 400F. Add the other roma and blush tomatoes to the other side of the pan and season with salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Add the halved eggplant to a second baking pan, season with salt and drizzle with olive oil then place in the oven. Return the tomato pan to the reheated oven and roast for 12 minutes, until tender, and then remove from the oven to let cool.

In a small pot, heat some olive oil and add the Israeli couscous. Cook until toasted golden. Cover with water or stock, bring to the boil, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until al dente. 

Mix together the couscous, fregola, and Israeli couscous in a large bowl. Add the herbs, cooked tomatoes with their juices, green and yellow tomato and the pepper. Very gently fold in and mix together, using your hands if necessary. Taste for seasoning - more salt, pepper, or olive oil if needed. Topped with some feta cheese or goat cheese I had was the perfect salting. 

tomato partaaaayyyyy

blog post title's quote is from urban dictionary's "tomato party" entry. 

i just swore out-loud at the dinner i made. holy duck that's delicious. i love working at a farmers market. post coming soon...

Addicting Potato Salad

This recipe was one of the first ones I tried from Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty cookbook. I made it first, back in the spring however with garlic scapes instead of the parsley and basil and I had a mixture of baby blue, red, and white potatoes. I think I exuded fumes of garlic for the rest of the week. I couldn't stay away from it, snacking on the little potatoes that I didn't get a chance to take a picture of all the pretty colors blended together. 

I did get a pic of the garlic scapes though. 

I had a quart of potatoes from the farmer's market, fresh parsley and basil so I couldn't be tempted to make anything else. 

15 quail's eggs (did not use0

1 cup frozen petite peas

1 3/4 lb new potatoes, washed but not scrubbed

1 cup basil

1/2 cup parsley leaves

1/2 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

2 garlic cloves (i think i actually put in 4 or 5)

1 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp white wine vinegar (i sprinkled over some Spanish sherry vinegar)

bunch of sorrel or mint leaves, shredded (did not have)

salt and pepper

Place the quail's eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 seconds (soft-boiled) or 2 minutes (hard-boiled). Refresh in cold water and peel. 

Blanch the peas in boiling water for 30 seconds then drain, refresh, and set aside. 

In another pot of boiling water, cook the potatoes for 15-20 minutes, depending on their size, until soft but not falling apart. 

While the potatoes are cooking, place the basil, parsley, pine nuts, Parmesan and garlic in a food processor and blitz to a paste. Add the oil and pulse until you get a runny pesto. Pour into a large bowl. 

Drain the potatoes, then cut in two as soon as you can handle them (they will absorb more flavor when hot). Add the potatoes, vinegar, and the peas to the bowl of pesto and toss well (oops, just realized I blitzed the peas too). Mix well, gently, slightly crushing the potatoes, so that all the flavors are mixed and the pesto is evenly distributed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cut the eggs in half and gently fold in. 

Going to go blanch another cup of peas to add to my salad! 

Farmer's Markets. Some thoughts on hanging out in parking lots.

I'm starting to not understand why people give farmers markets a bad rap for being too expensive. realistically, it is an incredibly better value. 

environmentally, they have less cost on the damage done regarding carbon footprints because the food hasn't been flown across the world, transported from the farm to the distribution center to the store to the home. Farmers market farm vendors are located nearby and everything that they sell has to come from there. I don't understand how many times people ask if the food we have is our own. < < insert snooty comment > > 

nutritionally, the food at the farmers market is the freshest, generally just picked that morning, a smattering of hours before. Many items found in a grocery store are picked unripe, shipped to a distribution center where they sit in a huge room and then sprayed with ethylene when the stores are ready for them so that they ripen and look "perfect" for the customer. 

economically, the prices are usually pretty low for what you're getting quality-wise. I guess it depends on where your priorities are, if you want to spend money on good food, talk with the vendors and know where your food comes from, and support the local economy at the same time, then the prices are worth it. some prices will be cheaper because the farmer is trying to make a living also, has a ton of produce and is trying to get rid of it! sometimes they will be more expensive than buying them at the actual farm because they have to pay for the labor and transportation costs to get to the farmers market. what we call a "convenience charge." 

but then again, is the cheap, nutrition-less and tasteless conventional foods too cheap? who should be setting the standard and what is it? 

 whether or not you think farmers markets are more expensive, the reason i am wondering why people think farmers markets are unaffordable, inconvenient, and stay away from them, is because since I started working there, I have heard a ton of people question the price. After telling them their total, very often they will be thrown off and say: and I have this cookie too. or did you get the 6 ears of corn as well? only 80 cents for this as my dinner side, wow! 2 dollars for this ginormous head of lettuce, really? did you include the peaches too? yup, I saw that, got everything. What I think it is, is that people don't usually have much cash, so when they're emptying their wallets of the few bills they have, they feel as though they can't get much. A lot of people ask if we accept cards. It's the easy way to shop to just hand over the plastic. I did that today actually and my friend who owns the restaurant actually had to tell me that the wrap was on him. I didn't even realize the price as I just handed him my card, blindly and without thinking about the total. You could easily get your weekly shopping at a farmers market, one stop shopping and helping to support various local businesses in your community - obviously depending on the farmers market, they are all unique. It's just the arm carrying capacity and the lack of cash that I think tends to cause people to stay away. Not many people use cash anymore so physically seeing your money I think psychologically makes people think they are spending more. 

the first day of our new van. the start of the spring it wasn't very full. now it's been completely violated. 

 Another observation about farmers markets is that I don't understand the people that bring their own bags, thinking that they're super green, but then ask for the plastic bag for their produce. why does it need to be double bagged?? Pints and quarts I understand wrapping so that the berries don't roll around and get smushed, but other than that, the vegetables don't need to be separated in their own individualized bags, they can all be friends in there! and they should be washed before being used anyways, they're not going to get any dirtier unless your groady bag is dirty, so why all the plastic bags?? it drives me crazy.

 some shots around the portsmouth farmer's market. 

so grab your bags, get out some cash, come hang out in a parking lot, talk to the local businesses, know your fruits and vegs, run into your neighbors, and listen to some live music!