First Sweet Corn

Andrea is home from college this week and was looking for something to do.

I had her do some tilling and then plant some delicious super sweet...

My Sweet Corn and the Aztec Empire

Did you know we owe the delights of modern sweet corn to Aztec Empire about a thousand years ago. They developed a wild grass species with an ear on top into the modern multi-ears maize stalk we have today.

Corn was a staple of the Aztec people located in central Mexico and is still popular with peoples in this region today.

So why did corn get such a prominent place in the Aztec empire instead of watermelon, cabbage, or broccoli?

10 Ways to Use Fresh Basil

There is nothing better than fresh basil. Even non-Mediterranean Minnesotans are highly attracted to this very healthy food. We sell basil during the main growing season for the same price as lettuce. What a great deal. Like many things that are good for us we love the taste of basil. Here are 10 ways to use basil:

1. Pesto, one of the most popular. See our post on how to make your own fresh pesto.
2. Layer a few leaves on your hamburger as you grill or serve. Also looks great.
3. Pizza sauce. chop finely and add 1/2 cup to your favorite sauce. Also is good with a white sauce.
4. Pasta sauce. Add 1 cup finely chopped to your favorite sauce.

Dryhydrate Everything

We have a row about 300 feet long of very large Jalapenos, that are the source of a bushel of Jalapeno peppers in the dehydrator this evening. We had two bushels at the market this week. We sold one and I am drying the other. It takes about 30 trays in my dehydrator for that many peppers. It will take about 24 hours to dry the peppers to a pliable consistency and 36 hours completely dry. If you are going to smoke them, the pliable consistency is best. If you are going to store them long term completely dry them and put them in the freezer. If  you want to try your hand at drying, stop by our stand.

We have a lot of Jalapenos but the real gems are the Poblanos or Ancho's as they are sometimes called. We have two rows 300 feet long of beautiful dark green peppers. Poblanos are quite a bit larger than Jalapenos and don't fit as well into the dehydrator. But the medium and small ones can fit in the trays. They dry beautifully and smoke even better.

I had a few extra trays so I loaded up a few hundred serranos with the Jalapenos. They are hotter so a little goes along way. They have a unique flavor, which is different than the other two.

Tomorrow night I'm thinking that I will load up some Roma tomatoes. They have much more moisture in them so they take a little longer to dry. You can also smoke the Romas and the will dance in your tomato dishes.

You can dehydrate just about everything:

- Green beans, for winter soup
- Watermelon, like cotton candy
- Herbs, pretty much anything
- Sweet Corn, makes ooh soo sweet corn meal
- Egg Plant, really reconstitutes well for late winter lasagna

Dill and Lemon Flavored Butter

Dill tops the list of flavored butters. This one goes good with fish and baby potatoes. Also try with sweet corn.

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter (whipped butter works good for spreading)
1 tablespoon of minced sweet onions with green tops
1/2 teaspoon of fresh dill weed (can also use dried)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon white pepper, ground

Directions:

Process in food processor until smooth. Refrigerate until served.

Sun Dried Tomato Butter

Sun dried tomato butter is a great flavored butter recipe to use on your sweet corn or other buttery things.

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter
garlic clover, minced
2-3 minced sun dried tomatoes (Petersens), pour boiling water over and let stand for 15 minutes to soften
A small Roma tomato, chopped finely, cored and seeded.
2 tsp fresh lime or lemon juice
1/4 cup cilantro (Petersens) or parsley (optional)

Directions:

Combine butter, garlic, lime juice, sun dried tomatoes and regular tomatoes and cilantro together
Shape mixture into a log (about 1 inch around) on waxed paper. Wrap and chill. Slice and use with sweet corn, green beans or other vegetables.

Kick It -Up:

• Add more garlic
• Add a jalapeno, minced.
• Sprinkle the outside of the log with fresh ground pepper
• Sprinkle the outside of the log with black & red sprinkle (Pensey's)

Grilled Corn with Chipotle Butter

This recipe has a great balance of sweet, spicy and tangy zip from the lime juice. Our sweet corn great all by itself but you can do some interesting and very tasty things with butter. If you are not familiar with how to roast the corn, see below.

Ingredients:

6-12 ears of Petersen's sweet corn husked.
1 stick butter
1-2 Petersen's chipotle peppers minced (pour boiling water over them and let sit 15 minutes)
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt or mineral salt such a pink salt
Lime wedges

Directions:

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add chipotles minced, fresh lime juice and salt. Reduce heat and cook 1 minute to mix flavors.

Brush fresh corn with the chipotle butter mixture. Cover and refrigerate if needed.

Heat up barbecue. Grill corn until tender and blackened a bit, turn frequently. This should take 5-7 minutes. Serve corn with lime wedges. Drizzle lime juice from wedges on corn just before eating.

Kick it up:

1. Cover liberally with fresh ground pepper
2. Salt to taste
3. Sprinkle with a dash of cayenne pepper (careful this is hot)
4. Make your own fresh butter with a little cream (yum)
5. 
   

Squash Blossom Soup (Yum!)

Squash blossom are one of the delightful treats of summer. They can be baked, fried, stuffed and sauteed. This recipe is for soup.

Ingredients:

1. 2 Tablespoons butter
2. 1 large white sweet onions, chopped into small pieces (Petersen's)
3. 3 cups chicken stock
4. 1 small Yukon gold potato, peeled and chopped (Petersen's)
5. 24 large squash blossoms (Petersens, large bag)
6. 2 poblano chilies, roast, peeled, deseeded and chopped finely (Petersen's)
7. 1 cup milk
8. 1 medium zucchini, chopped finely (Petersen's)
9. Kernels from a large ear of corn (Petersen's)
10. 1/2 cup heavy cream
11. kosher salt
12. Flat leaf parsley, chopped finely 

Instructions:

1. Warm butter on low heat until melted, increase heat to medium until butter is bubbling. Add chopped onion, stirring to coat. Cook until the onions are golden, stirring occasionally. Reserve half the onions and set aside.
2. Add chicken stock and chopped potato to the pot and bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. When boiling, lower the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes
3. While simmering, prep squash blossoms. Break off stems, peel off sepals (the small leaves that grown from the base and pluck out the stamen. Discard stems, sepals and stamen. No need to be careful the blossoms will eventually be chopped up.
4. Divide the blossoms into two even piles then slice into 1/4 inch strips (include the blossom base). Add one pile of slices to the simmering stock and cook for 3 minutes. Carefully blend the mixture until smooth. I used my immersion blender. If you don't have one, use a blender, working small batches. Return the mixture back to the pot over medium heat.
5. Add the chopped, roasted poblano, milk and reserved onion to the soup, stirring to incorporate. Simmer for 10 minutes and then add zucchini and corn. Simmer for another 3 minutes, then add the other pile of sliced squash blossoms. Continue simmering for 2 minutes, then take the mixture off of the heat. Stir in cream and season to taste with kosher salt (several pinches).
6. Serve in soup bowls and finish with a sprinkle of chopped flat leaf parsley

Serves 6.

Adapted from recipe by Brandon Matzek.

Corn with Cilantro Butter

In the honor of our first week of sweet corn we have been trying different flavored butters. One of the yummy favorites has been Cilantro butter. We have some excellent baby cilantro that works with salsa as well.

Ingredients:

12 ears of corn, husked (Petersens)
One stick of unsalted butter
4 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped (no stems please) (Petersens)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or a good mineral salt (optional)

Directions:

Blend butter, cilantro, and spices in a bowl or food processor. Spread the seasoned butter on hot corn, dust with chili powder and salt if desired, serve immediately.

Kick it Up:

Use extra butter on tuna steaks, chicken breast, or toasted french bread