When will I eeever learn? Yes. I used my sing-songy voice like my 2nd Best Old Ex-Teaching Buddy Karen when she would beat me at a hand of poker.
If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Especially at Country Mart.
All summer, I've resisted buying corn-on-the-cob, due to the price. I suppose maybe the price is up all over. But to me, $5 for 4 medium-sized pieces of corn-on-the-cob seems excessive. It's not like we're importing it from Timbuktu. I'm pretty sure corn grows near Hillmomba.
Friday, Country Mart had ears of corn 3-for-$1. That's still in the shucks. Or whatever you call them. Corn like you break it right off the stalk. I don't mind shucking corn. I used to get it from my grandma's garden. While I'm not crazy about the occasional worm, it's not enough to make me give up corn-on-the-cob. So I took my chances. I bought 6 ears of corn.
I shucked two of them on Monday evening. Slathered on some butter, wrapped them in foil, and let Farmer H grill them. THEY WERE DELICIOUS! No worms, either.
Tuesday evening, I took two more ears out on the back porch for shucking. That's the beauty of living in the country. You just toss your vegetable waste off the back porch. Something will eat it! I've seen a terrapin back there several days when I get ready to park T-Hoe in the garage. Maybe it's the same one. Maybe there are more.
Anyhoo... I cut the ends off, and shucked the first ear. Peeled all the silky hairs off. It looked fantastic. I started on the second. Wait a minute! That looked rotten. Or like mold. Not green, but brown. I trimmed off more. Okay. Wait! After shucking, some of the kernels had that brown stuff on them. But some came off as the silk came off. Huh. I tossed that ear towards the woods, and went in for the last two. Same thing! Only not as much.
I know there is some weird delicacy with corn fungus, but I don't think this was it! I cut off those kernels, after using my green scrubby thing in the sink to remove some of the brown. I gave Farmer H his choice of the one good ear, or the 1.5 trimmed ears. He chose the 1.5. He's still breathing, as far as I know.
I asked Farmer H if he wanted me to pick up some more corn at the store when I buy bananas on Wednesday. He said no.
6 comments:
There probably is corn grown near Hillmomba, but it gets trucked way across the country while yours gets trucked in, hence the prices. Stupid system really, stuff grown around there should be sold around there, but I don't have executive training so what do I know?
Bad luck on the mouldy ones though.
Are you able to just shuck the ear of corn in the store? The stores here always have a garbage can close by for the shuckings.
River,
You are SO right! I could probably find some tasty ears at a farmer's market, but I don't have the patience to shop at them, what with all the meandering required. I know of two close by, one over in Sis-Town, and another in Bill-Paying Town. And some good tomatoes, too. You have to watch them, though. Some people buy them in bulk elsewhere, and show up at the farmer's market with tasteless store tomatoes! The more irregular they look, the better. Smelling is a good way to test them, too.
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Alice,
I wouldn't dare! I've never seen anyone do that around here, so I'm pretty sure it's frowned upon. What happens if they find a bad ear? Do they throw it away, or is it like "you shucked it, you bought it?"
I always pull down some of the shuck to peek the corn beneath. I cook mine in the microwave with the shuck intact. The silk slips right off with the shuck. We even grill it with the shuck on. Just like the Minnesota State Fair that we attended every year just to eat the corn and the pork chop on a stick, after we ate the initial corndog and drank the required plastic cup of beer. After that we ate the corn and pork, then the elephant ears, chocolate chip cookies and cotton candy, ending the day at the dairy building for ice cream to eat while we perused the butter scultures. Wait, what were we talking about? Oh, the shucking of corn. The kernels will dry out if you aren't eating it very soon, but in Minnesota groceries, everybody shucks their corn right there in the produce section .... except me.
They would just throw it back in the pile of unshucked corn and reach for another one. I live in South Florida and people here don't really care or have any manners. So sad!
I peel it down just a bit to make sure the top of the ear is clean and not brown or mushy. I bring it home and shuck it myself!
Kathy,
I cook it in the microwave after shucking, wrapped in plastic wrap. Mmm... probably full of carcinogens! I don't think we've cooked it in the shuck on the grill. Just foil. I'm too tender-fingered to peel away a hot steaming shuck.
These days I tend to buy the foam tray with four or five ears of corn that are half-shucked, so you can see the kernels.
Dang you and your fair foods! We just had the Labor Day Picnic, a 3-day affair with many of those delicacies. Haven't been in years, but once stopped by just for a funnel cake. We also liked the spiral potato chip platter. I think maybe they called it butterfly potatoes, but it was just a whole potato fried into thin chips all connected.
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Alice,
Heh, heh! Tossing the bad ears back into the pile! That's a nervy bunch! I guess I COULD peel down a bit of shuck, just for a peep, then cover the end back up if it was bad. My permanent record is shivering in its folder...
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