Everywhere you look corn is growing sky high in middle Tennessee. Just around the corner my neighbors have room for a tiny garden beside their house and I would not imagine there would be room for corn, but don’t you know they are growing 2 stalks! And why not, just picked corn on the cob is one of the most delicious foods on the planet.
As a graduate assistant at Middle Tennessee State University I worked 20 hours a week in the International Student Services office for a small stipend and paid tuition. The beauty of the arrangement was that I could take any and as many classes as I wanted. In addition to my graduate classes, I also took German and Vegetable Gardening. In the VG class I learned corn is one of the few plants indigenous to North America. It’s more native then we are. And unlike it’s derivatives like high fructose corn syrup, fresh corn straight off the cob is very nutritious and good for you. And did I mention delicious?
Sweet corn is different than field corn harvested later for commercial use as grain and silage when the kernels are hard and dry. Sweet corn is harvested during the immature “milk stage” and eaten as a vegetable, not a grain. I’m still looking for my grandmother’s fried corn recipe where she “milked” the cob for the recipe. Until I find it we’ll have to make do with other excellent recipes handed down from other wonderful southern cooks located in middle Tennessee.
In the recipe book Flaunting our Finest from Historic Franklin, we have Baked Corn Pudding that looks delicious.
4 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups whole milk
½ teaspoon pepper
4 well beaten eggs
2 ½ cups fresh corn, right off the cob with juices
Melt butter, add flour, mixing well. Add milk gradually and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add corn, sugar, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat, add eggs and pour into a greased 3 quart casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees until firm, about 45 minutes.
Yield: 12 servings.
Variations: Add ¼ cup diced onion and ¼ cup green bell pepper.
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