When I was a little girl, we used to pick sweet corn every summer with my mom and dad. The corn stalks towered over us and sometimes my dad would have to lift us up so we could reach the ears of corn. Daddy taught me how to choose a full ear by first feeling the ear for fullness and then by pulling the husk back slightly to see if the kernels were plump.
We’d fill bags of paper grocery sacks with ripe ears of corn. At home, my mom put my sisters and I to work in the garage husking the corn we weren’t going to eat right away. She’d blanch it, cut it off the cob, and freeze it for the winter. Daddy showed us how to cut the kernels off as close to the corn cob as we could and then he’d scrape the bare cob with the blade of a sharp knife. He’d smile and say that he was getting all the sweetness he could out of the corn.
That’s the thing about fresh, summer sweet corn. It doesn’t need much work to taste fantastic.
You can boil it, steam it, wrap it in foil and bake it…but our favorite is to throw it on the grill, husk and all, and let it cook, turning once one side is charred, until the entire ear of corn has a beautiful burnt brown hue. The silk, those long stringy things that stick out of the top of the ear, come right off when the corn is fully cooked. Eat your grilled summer sweet corn it as is or add a little butter, salt, and pepper.
Or, if you’re like me you eat it au natural.
How are you cooking your favorite summer veggies?
Reminders
- My top food picks from the Fancy Food Show are up at FoodSpring.com – read day one and day two on their blog.
- You can still enter to win a copy of Healthy Snack to Go by Katie from Kitchen Stewardship. Or, you can
buy a copy for $6.95. - Pamela’s Products is holding their 5th Annual Greatest Gluten-Free Recipe Contest – get all the details here and start working on your ‘mini’ recipe.
Grilled Summer Sweet Corn
as many ears of corn as you need
Preheat your grill on medium high. Place ears of corn directly onto the hot grill with the husk on. Cover, and turn every 3 – 5 minutes or when one side has become charred. Remove from grill, husk, and serve as is or with salt, pepper, and butter.
