The farmer’s market in my city is more than just a gathering of farmers with produce; it now contains vendors with meats, cheeses, breads & pastries, home baked dog treats, fair trade products like coffee, flowers and plants, and homemade items like jewelry and crocheted baby items. You can even get your lunch there, everything from samosas, quesadillas, soups and fresh grilled sausages. The busiest day of our market is Saturday, when all the vendors are there but you can find fewer vendors on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My favourite day to go is Saturday, when you can get a taste of the produce and interaction with them all.
On this busy Saturday, you’re walking through the market and all the fresh vegetables are literally calling your name – pick me, pick me! Oh look, I haven’t had good cantaloupe in forever, at least one that smells like cantaloupe. The eggplant and peppers are so bright and colourful they hop into your bag when you’re not looking. Everything looks so good, you want a taste of everything and you end up at home with more than you thought possible. Then we all know what happens – it gets pushed into the fridge and somewhat forgotten. Can I see a show of hands as to who that’s happened to?
FRESH CORN
A common vegetable that many find in too much abundance is fresh corn. The best price is always for the baker’s dozen and don’t we all want the best price? The perfect time to eat corn is the day it’s picked….any time after that, the sugars start breaking down into starch and it becomes mealy and tough. But, if you should ever find yourself with corn that’s been around for a few days or longer, I’ll share with you an old family recipe for making it taste delicious again.
Slice the kernels from the cob then run the back of the knife down the cob to extract as much liquid (milk) from the cob as possible. Melt approximately 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet until bubbly, add kernels and liquid to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium-low. Once the corn has started to cook, add 1-2 tablespoons of sugar and a splash of milk to the skillet and cook for a few more minutes on low heat. Remove from the heat and serve immediately. You will find that your previously starchy corn now tastes like fresh picked again.
Do you have any ways of rejuvenating vegetables? I’d love to hear some of your ideas.
This is a post from Mary Cunningham.
Ed note: Unfortunately, with the drought here in the midwestern United States, there won’t be an abundance of corn this year. Many of the fields look incredibly sick. The plants are short and brown and have no ears. I haven’t seen it this bad in my lifetime.
Related articles
- New corn seed fights drought (kshb.com)
I love corn, but the farms that sell at my local farmers markets doesn’t seem to sell it. Mostly, I get fresh green beans and carrots there.
At the grocery store, corn has been a little more expensive than it usually is in the summer. I’ve seen it get as low as 10 cents per ear at the height of the harvest, but this year, it never got below a quarter.
Ed,
We’ve had tons of corn at the markets but these are from farmer’s that irrigate their crops. So, that’s pushed up the price to 50 cents an ear but you’re guaranteed it’s been picked that morning.
It has been cheaper at the grocery stores but who knows how long it’s been since it was picked…but again, that was the purpose for this article…:-)
Since my wife works at the grocery store we shop at, I know when they get their corn deliveries, and that chain buys their fresh sweet corn exclusively from a collective of farms in-state, so on delivery day it shouldn’t be more than a day old.
I’d buy corn at the farmer’s market, but Eastern Slope farms don’t seem to grow sweat corn, only field corn. Colorado’s agriculture seems to be highly regionalized. Olathe seems to grow all the sweet corn in the west, Rocky Ford, in the southeast, grows a good chunk of all the cantaloupe consumed in the US.
Interesting information there Ed…and it’s great when you have an inside way of knowing where things come from (and how fresh it is!). There’s a lot of farmer’s that seem to be leaning more to field corn anymore…..and I even know some farmer’s that just let it rot on the stalks (can we say subsidy?). It’s a shame that it’s become such a big business anymore and not worrying about actually feeding folks.
I have enjoyed some fresh corn from our local farmers market. My own corn in the garden did pitifully, bit I think it was my own fault and will do better next year. What we did get was super sweet and delicious. Thanks for the tip on rejuvenating corn that’s been stored a little too long.
Allan Douglas recently posted..The Rescuing of Cochise: an American Bulldog’s Tale
Allan, I’ve also had some really good corn from our farmer’s market….I have one guy, in particular, who is growing sweet white corn that is unbelievable and exactly like what my uncle grew when I was growing up. It’s so sweet, it doesn’t even need to be cooked. Good luck on next year’s crop….we sometimes have to learn from our mistakes.
Luckily for us, we live in the heart of dairy country and there are an abundance of farms that grow AWESOME corn. Pretty much every corner has a stand with fresh corn. We have a great farmers market every Saturday for all other vegetables, but sweet corn is right around the corner for me.
That’s great Ted…..where abouts are you? We’ve been pretty lucky with our corn here too…..I just sometimes have a problem with finding quality corn that’s not GMO or blasted with pesticides…:-(
With so much corn, field and sweet out there now thanks to Monseto, being GMO food, I think I will be trying to stay away from corn and anything made with corn by products! Which 90 percent of super market food it made with it! I really want to figure out how to stay away from supermarkets on a low income, kind of stinks it is highly processed or GMO foods that are the cheaper ones to purchase!
Poor to Rich a Day at a Time recently posted..$45 Grocery List for the Food Stamp/Snap Challenge Day 1
Poor to Rich, I hear what you’re saying and it’s true that up to 85% of all corn is now GMO but if you know where your produce is coming from and you can establish a good relationship with a farmer, you can be guaranteed what you’re eating. I agree with you 100% though, it’s tough to try and find reasonable products on a low income. But, I really feel if you could find a local farmer and establish a good relationship, you may be pleasantly surprised at the prices you could get.
My local farmers here are all modern day commercial ones using GMO and heavy pesticide sprays
so sad, my trailer actually gets fumagated when they spray if I am not quick enough to shut my windows! We watched them spray twice with weed killer, once with crop dusting plane ( literally just 3 feet over the roof of our trailer since we are basically part of their field!) and 4 times after that with what I assume was pesticides for the cukes they planted this year……I wont buy cukes now at a store either! LOL but yeah most the local farmers in my area all farm the commercial way, even my organic garden is not organic since it is 2 feet away from their fields makes me so sad!
Poor to Rich a Day at a Time recently posted..Snap/Food Stamp Challenge Day 3 : Pina Colada Rice Balls
That’s a shame…..and so sad you don’t have any organic farmer’s close to you. You’re in Michigan, right? I do know what it’s like to live in the middle of fields that are sprayed though. My husband and I lived in a similar situation and we ended up losing 3 cats to cancer, 1 while living there and the other 2 not long after we moved from there. Have you tried looking at any of the organic sites that list those farms in different states? Makes me sad for you though.
Mary