"Mama, how are you going to get the walls down to wash them? Are you taking them down now? Who is comin' over Mama? Why you cleanin' the walls? Are you takin' all the walls down?"
It seems to me that someone is lacking in their duties around here to teach a little girl about keeping house.
Fall cleaning has been increasingly put on the back burner, because it seems that all my grand ideas to freeze or can things, seem to take days on end.
Take my big ol' batch of corn for instance. I think it turned into a ninety five day project somehow. I soon had visions of just taking a drive to town in the middle of the night and dropping corn off on random people's doorsteps. I thought zucchini was a problem in these parts, corn seems worse. My Aunt and I actually had an argument that went something like this,
"No, we don't need corn, don't bring any here! I was going to send some home with you!"
"Well, I'm bringing some to send home with the cousins!"
"No, they are staying at MY HOUSE, I'M sending some home with the cousins! I'm the one who needs to get rid of vegetables!"
Anyone need corn up in these parts?
While my friend Lenore, whose family recipe I use for corn, said, "Oh, just take it easy! You do a batch at a time and relax in between." I don't really know who she is kidding, with her four daughters, maybe she now has minions to help her out, but a batch at a time and relax in between? I had my little girl picking raw corn off the floor and shoving it in her mouth. Time between batches, meant there was just barely enough time to wipe the counter and keep my mind from going a little crazier.
I think frozen corn is the handiest, dandiest thing you can come by in your freezer. It is the perfect quick addition to any winter meal and when hauling some slop to your neighbour's after a new baby arrives (sounds appealing, doesn't it?) a bag of corn makes your measly casserole look like it has a little more to it.
If you have never frozen corn before, let me tell you, it's super simple and you shouldn't have fear. Just give it a go! If you're in Alberta, go buy your best Taber corn or pick some up from the nearest colony. If you have a beautiful crop in your garden-even better! If you live in a Mennonite community like moi, be sure that corn will be the talk during fall weather. The men like to even put their two bits in there and let you know that this batch, this year, from this place, that this family hauled up from Taber, is the best, the sweetest corn around! Corn, corn, corn...it's on everyone's minds.
Husk your corn and peel off all the lil' silky bits. Give it a thorough scrub-a-dub and pose it up on a plate for a photo. Alas, maybe this is why it took me so dang long, because of the picture taking that became involved this year.
Take a serrated knife (electric if you have the luck) and carefully hack away at that cob, peeling off all the raw corn. Sixteen cups to be exact to make one batch up.
Toss your corn into a big pot. Dump in four cups of water, four teaspoons of salt, and 1/2 a cup of sugar. If your corn isn't sweet enough, add more sugar. If your crop is super sweet, go ahead and cut back. You want to have the appropriate amount of sugar so you can join in the coffee talk corn gossip.
Simmer this all up for ten minutes and let the monster pot cool. If you leave it on the counter, you will be sixty six odd days until the thing is cool enough to bag. Pop the pot in the sink with cold water around it and it'll be ready to bag after nap time.
Now, go ahead and bag the juicy yellow kernels! Try and get a bit of the water in each bag, to help it freeze nicely. I like to freeze one and half cups per bag and level them a bit flat so they lay nicely in the freezer.
Voila! You have completed the fall task of freezing corn. Go ahead, it's post worthy. What? You don't have slim pickin's on ideas to choose from on what to blog about? Corn is not a high priority?
Does it mean I'm losing my mind that I can hear folks answering these questions?
Is the corn getting to me?
For a printable version of this recipe...um, too bad so sad. I don't know how to do that!
16 cups of raw corn
4 cups of water
4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
Simmer for ten minutes. Cool and bag.
Linking up here.
24 comments:
I've just canned close to 300 pounds of apples and just had to laugh when you mentioned taking the corn to town and leaving it on doorsteps. VERY similar thoughts crossed my mind. Initially I was feeling awfully domestic, by day three I was wanting to never see an apple again. Ha! Looks good! I've never put up corn before? Now I know how. :)
um wait, are you mennonite?
we freeze tons of corn too but just do water / corn, nothing else! same ratio!!
Yumm! Sends some our way we love corn!
I didn't get to put any up this year, we ate it all. :/
Love that you blogged about this, might as well!
We had this problem with okra this year. I swear Lance planted a mile of okra in our garden, and when my freezer was full, and I was tired of eating it every day, I thought I would just let it go. Oh, no! My father in law kept on sneaking up here and cutting the okra and leaving it in my garage! So the okra kept putting on. And it's still putting on. I can't find enough stuff to do with this okra! Argh! Anyways, back to corn...have you ever just left the corn in the husks and put it in the oven? Just lay it right on the grates and cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. It is so easy to peel when it cools, and its very juicy!
Looks yummy! Freezing some corn is next on my list in the next week or so. Hope you didn't go too crazy. Your post sounds pretty sane to me :)
OH =( I soo want some of your corn!!! Mine all froze a little to early this year.
you make every task sound delightful, including washing walls.....
I'm sure you deserve your own cooking show. I like to have fun while I learn! Looks good. Our corn was a bust this year here in the Midwest (Illinois) with the severe drought. Hoping for better next year. If I get any corn at least I'll know what to do with it. We always eat it off the cob with butter.
Deb
So funny- I was talking to my husband the other day and we were wondering if you could grow corn up there or if the season was too short. We finished our sweet corn over a month ago and we have 53 quarts in the freezer! I just cut mine off and stick it right in the bags and I will add a dab of butter and a spoonful of sugar when I thaw it out, but I have heard of doing it your way, too. It is way better than any store version!!!
Oh- I forgot, I blanch my whole cobs of corn before I cut it off and Pampered Chef makes this corn cutter thing that is AWESOME!!! But maybe, since I cook the corn first, that is why there is so much splatter and juiciness in the first place.
Oh, I do love having some good frozen corn at the ready. I just blanch the ears in boiling water, cut them off the cob and freeze. But even that takes forever. I only did a bushel this year, and will probably regret it come next spring, but it's all I had energy for! This year I even passed up the opportunity to pick pears and apples, because I quite simply did not feel like putting anything up. I did 100lbs of tomatoes with a neighbor, and about 30 pounds of apples. That was enough for me. I can hardly stay on top of things as it is with #3 on the way, so I'm picking my battles. And let's just say, I'm not in the fighting mood. At all. Haha!
We could use some corn. You are so right about freezing it and later using it in stews, soups, etc.
You are probably sick of corn right about now. I sometimes use a bundt cake pan and stick the corn cob in the center hole and then cut away the corn.
I didn't have a garden or do canning this year, I know its a long drive , but if you want to come up for a visit I will take some corn!LOL
Yum! I love to "make" corn and freeze it. Your recipe is just like mine. My grandma used to make it this way and now so do I and so does my daughter and DIL. I need to get me some more corn for freezing. I doubt I have enough yet to winter on.
Did I tell you I love your writing style? Keep on posting!
I've heard you can freeze the corn with the husks on, it takes up a lot more room in the freezer, but I bet it would be good thawed and done in the oven like Steph said.
I LOVE how you write!! You are so awesome and make me smile huge all the time! I'm so jealous! If you still have extra corn - I have never froze any before, but your method sounds easy enough.......... ;)
Hey,Chy.....next corn year give me a call.I have an easier way,yet!Yes,we Mennonite cooks are getting lazy!Venice
I just do corn and water with mine and luckily only about 10 cobs this year was left at my place ;) I sure do love it in the winter though. I really like the canned stuff but I don't have a pressure canner to do it right...yet.
I LOVE this. This is part of my childhood memories, freezing batches and batches of corn with my mom's family... men women and children all working together. Grandma and grandpa would have tables set up in their yard, and coolers full of hot water and cold, and some would be shucking and some would be going between the kitchen with shucked corn and some would be coming out with freshly boiled corn and then the uncles would work the mandolin slicers with the corn and then one of us kids would take all the sliced cobs and scrap table knives over them to get every bit of sweet juice from them and it all would get salted and loaded into bags for the freezer... and there's nothing like eating that deliciousness. Amazing.
Unfortunately, with our relocation lifestyle, I can't really keep a stocked freezer. Everything in my pantry has to be canned or dry goods. So, no frozen corn for me. Canned corn is no bueno.
Thank you for this post. Brought back so many amazing memories. :-)
You can always swing by my house with some corn;) I am hoping to do what was mentioned before find some yet(as if I will its so late here for it) and freeze it with the husks on:)
Now this is a recipe I've been looking for...not that I couldn't find one on the internet, but I wanted one from someone I can trust! We live with corn all around us right now, and this year it's sweeter than any year I can remember.
Thanks Cheyenne!
I don't grow corn. Read -too far north- and so yes, I'd be right down for some. Would love it!
Oh I wish I could take some corn off your hands! Oh I truly truly do! All the yummy domestic stuff takes forever but is truly wonderful. I feel like making baby food takes forever too!
Oh how I wish someone would leave fresh corn on my porch. It's so much lovelier than zucchini. I've copied the recipe. As soon as I rustle up some corn to go in the freezer I'm making it.
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