The Red, White and Food: Esau's Sweet Corn

I do meet the sweetest people. Today, at the grocery store, I was there gazing at a new load of corn. I had already gobbled up the corn I got this weekend from the Farmers Market. Local corn frustrates me a little because I am spoiled.  Everyone has a favorite taste for corn. In my opinion, it is hard to beat the sweet corn from the farms on Eastern Long Island. Under veggies, you will find a post about Harbes...the North Fork L.I. King of Corn...famous for their smokey-sweet, butter-drenched roasted corn and fresh lemonade. There is a DIY roasted corn recipe in that post, too. Check them out at:  
http://www.harbesfamilyfarm.com/

But, I am on an adventure and corn is in all the farm markets and grocery stores now and so I am trying out a lot of corn! I asked the grocer if he had "butter and sugar" corn available which he did not and so I moved on to another section of the produce department. Before I knew it, I heard a woman calling me and heading lickety split over to talk. She is a state senator and wanted me to know about Esau's Sweet Corn. Corn that she said is pretty as a picture,  has "immaculate rows", baby fine silk and is the sweetest corn you will ever eat. She and her pals go to Esau's farm stand every summer, load up the car and eat corn until they are stuffed and deliriously happy. I found a picture of Esau's corn on the internet and it is beautiful. Look at those rows:

They do not have a website and I had to do some hunting to find them. They are in Dumas, Arkansas and available at this phone number: 1-870-382-5738. I spoke to the farm and it is located 4 miles north of Dumas off Highway 65. The Dumas Chamber of Commerce was where I began to track them down, http://www.dumasar.net/

You can order in advance and they will have your order bagged and ready to go, but according to the state senator, go to their farm stand and linger.They also have lovely pastries available as well as other sweet treats. Here's is a big The Red, White and Food thank you to Senator Ruth Whitaker and Esau's Sweet Corn.

Knowing that both Esau's and Harbes may be out of your area, go on an adventure this weekend and see what corn you can find. Just may be your new favorite! Here is a recipe for perfect corn on the cob, sweet and simple. Just add your own butter and a napkin or two.  

Sweet Corn on the Cob

Drop cleaned ears of fresh, sweet corn into a pot of rapidly boiling, unsalted water. Let boil 2 minutes, remove with tongs and drain off excess water by rolling quickly in a dishtowel. Serve immediately with sweet butter, sea salt and fresh black pepper. Allowing 2 ears per person is a good idea!

If the flavor is not on the mark, then go ahead and slather with a tasty spread. I love pesto with corn and here is the recipe I use.

Simple Pesto

2 garlic cloves, peeled

dash of sea salt

3 Tablespoons pine nuts

3 cups loosely packed basil leaves, destemmed

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano

2-3 Tablespoons Romano cheese

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Whiz garlic, sea salt and pine nuts in blender until finely minced. Add in basil and olive oil. When smooth, add in cheese and softened butter and blend to consistency you like. For this last step, I press "pulse" instead of "blend" just to get it thoroughly mixed but not overly processed.

Chicken Soup Redux

This is how I felt for several days last week. I had a headache to beat the band. We had a lot of storm systems roll through here and every one rocked and rolled through my head. Between my head and curly hair, who needs The Weather Channel? I am a walking weather report. Rarely under the weather, I was growing increasingly annoyed with the heat, humidity, storms and my headache-y malaise. I needed some chicken soup...my go-to remedy for almost everything. Soup, especially chicken soup, really relieves my barometricly induced head pressure. But, here's the rub. I don't eat chicken any more.

Fueled by pain, my curiosity kicked into overdrive. I remembered having some delicious miso soup last spring. There is a farmstand of sorts near Mom that serves miso soup in its take-out area. It is wonderful and very nourishing, and made with fermented organic soy, not the scary stuff. Sounded like the perfect soup to soothe me and help me learn something new. I am not very experienced in Asian foods...there are just a few Asian recipes on this blog and so pursuing miso soup looked like a win-win.  Just a note: There is so much hype out there about soy. It is in everything and so, be aware. You only want organic tofu and fermented soy products like miso, tamari and tempeh. Steer clear of as many soy protein isolates as you can...they usually have high fructose corn syrup and other bad actors in their mix.

 

I made a big batch and tweaked it throughout the week, adding in chopped green onions, leftover soba noodles, a few chunks of tofu and some baby bok choy.  Every day it was a little different and gave me the fix and relief I needed. It was all gone (and so was my headache) before I got to try out a bunch of other add-in's that would be good, like broccoli and mushrooms. Next time. The miso I had on hand also had a "per serving" recipe enclosed, if you don't want a whole pot full! Just like chicken soup, there are tons of recipes for miso soup...so play.

                                     

Soothing Miso Soup 

The ingredients were easy to find at the grocery (International Food aisle for wakame and refrigerated case for reasonably priced miso) and I even found the wakame at a drug store.

1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced 

3-4 carrots, julienned

3 T wakame, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes*

1 cup white miso (you can also use red or brown)

In a soup pot, combine 6 cups of  water, onion, carrots and wakame. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Add one cup of water to miso (it is a paste) and blend thoroughly. Add miso to soup and heat through to warm miso but do not boil! Miso loses some of its healing magic if it boils.

Serves 5-6.

*Wakame is a sea vegetable and comes in dried form and was new to me! Click on the picture and it should enlarge it so you can read what's on the package better. You rehydrate it by soaking in cool water for 5 minutes. The directions are on the bag. I used 3T from about a $4 bag and there is tons left for lots more soup. Wakame adds a nice salty/sweet favor.

Sunday Sweets

Look at what I found at my back door!!! These beauties are from my dear neighbor and her coveted fig tree. I tried to grow one myself but no such luck. Her tree is a legend around here.

Look at these figs...you can see they are just oozing sweetness...some have already burst open. I thought about caramelizing them for a recipe I have but, nope...I am just going to pop them in my mouth. Perfect just as is. Ahhh...Sundays! xoxoxoxoxo to you, sweet neighbor!

Two Must Do's!

There are two great food events happening locally today. With summer's growing season in full throttle, I am sure there are similar ones in lots of other hometowns, too. Check and see what deliciousness is happening close to you and go. They are almost as sweet as a walk on the beach!

The first is Bountiful Arkansas and you can check it out by going here: http://www.uawri.org/educational-programs/environment/bountiful-arkansas

The second is at our local Farmers Market. Check out the website www.farmtotabletour.com and see when this delicious tour is heading your way. There will be more on this adventure in Tuesday's post.

Here are some pictures of the fabulous homegrown food in our market. The last one is of my "Egg Lady".

Flipping Them Off!

Twice this week, I watched movies set in Pittsburgh and both gave off the vibe of "You don't want to live there!". Ticked me off. I am happy to say I am from Pittsburgh. It was a delightful place to grow up: an accessible, romantic city full of all kinds of colorful people, culture, quirks and of course, professional sports teams. The suburb where I grew up was and still is, a beauty...deep woods, wonderful architecture, meandering streets and streams, horse-y antics, home to dear friends and still holds a big chunk of my heart. Don't trash The Burg...or the Rust Belt for that matter. I was born in Ohio.

However, those movies did spur me on to answer a question...

Some of you have asked about the "first time" I learned to drive...I mentioned it in a post a while back. Here is the story...cleaned up some. My dad would have told it a little differently.The first time was in my hometown near Pittsburgh, PA. My mom, a high school English teacher, was my first teacher and given her skills in the classroom, we all thought it would work out just fine. If she could teach kids the intricacies of  English grammar and composition, how hard would it be to teach me something so basic as driving? Really. Done deal.

Well, I was able to learn the basics and drove through the winding hills of The Burg back and forth to the apple farm stand we loved. Yes, there were lots of gasps and white-knuckles on her part, but overall, I did OK and we both survived the training period. That is, until the test.

My family's one car was very basic... a stick shift Ford station wagon, went forward, backward, around corners and God willing, stopped. Definitely no bells, whistles or powered-up helpers. When I got the car in place for my driving test, I *flunked*, big time...even before I officially entered the course which, of course, started off at a stop sign on a steep hill...a given in Pittsburgh. I popped the clutch, stalled out, finally got the car into gear...the wrong one, and then, flooded the engine. The officer in the car was incredulous and said as kindly as possible, "Miss, you gotta give this some time." I was mortified and relied on friends and the good old bus system for the next year and a half. I didn't know anyone who had flunked the driving test. Anyone.

Eighteen month later, next teacher up was my dad. The second time I learned to drive was on Shelter Island...same car but a flatter training ground. No killer hills to speak of. Things looked good. Even better when for my second test, my dad rented a car with an automatic clutch and power steering. Sweet victory in a nutshell, minus the expletives on my dad's part about renting the car.

And so, to celebrate coming out of my baddish mood and reliving my driving tales, I am going to go flip some pancakes, another skill my dad taught me. And, the next time someone trashes where I am from, I am going to flip them off with these.

Buckwheat Griddlecakes                                                   

2/3 cup unbleached AP flour*
1/3 cup buckwheat flour
2 teaspoons brown sugar (or white)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (use Rumford...it is aluminum-free)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk
6 T 2% or whole milk
1 large egg, yolk and white separated
2 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Oil (I use cocount)
Pure Maple Syrup (from Ohio would be a nice touch)

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Pour milk and buttermilk into a bowl. Whisk egg white into milks. In a small bowl or cereal dish, beat melted butter into egg yolk and then add into egg white/milk mix. Pour all wet ingredients into dry and whisk only until just combined. Do not beat or overmix.

Heat griddle over medium-high heat. Brush with oil. Test for readiness by flicking a few drops of water into griddle. They should "dance".

Ladle 1/4 batter onto griddle, not crowding. When underside is nicely browned, the top should start to bubble...about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook until second side is nice and golden., about 1-2 minutes. Play with your heat to get the right setting, somewhere between medium and medium-high should do it. Makes about 8.

Serve with sweet, unsalted butter, maple syrup or any fruit you love. For summer, pour on some berries!

*I love the flavor of buckwheat flour and make them with all buckwheat, too. They are denser. There is also a good recipe on the Hodgson's Mill Buckwheat Flour box.