Memories

When I was a kid one of the best things of summer was fresh corn.  Yes, I know.  Very odd for someone petrified of cornfields but the scariest ones are the ones with huge field corn, not sweet corn though enough of that in one place is still creepy.

I grew up in the middle of nowhere and we always had a few rows of corn in the garden.  I could pick it because they were long rows, usually only two and I could reach everything without actually needing to stand between the stalks.

The method for cooking the corn was simple.  Put a small amount of water on to boil, then go pick and clean the ears.  By the time that was accomplished the water was ready.  Steam the cobs for a few minutes and it was ready to eat.  Yes, I was spoiled by fresh veggies, mostly cooked like this, that still retained all their flavor my entire young life.

But as much as I loved corn, I was never fond of gnawing it from the cobs.  I wasn’t prissy but it was too messy.  Fresh peach juice running down my arms, dripping from my elbows was fine.  Corn slop was not.  But then I enjoy my corn naked instead of buttered so what do I know?

The preferred method for me was to cut the corn from the cob.  If this was done just right, the kernels would stick together in little pats and could be eaten with my fingers.  Nothing better than fresh sweet corn to snack on. 

My grandmother hated when I asked her to do that for me but my grandfather was a kindred spirit.  He was a very quiet, stoic man, I think to keep the peace, but that was one thing he would put his foot down about.  When we had corn with them, he always had her cut it off and then sat and ate it with his fingers with me.  I’m sure she griped plenty after I’d gone but he did it all the time anyway.  I suspect he was fairly deaf to most of her griping since she did so much of it, especially when it came to me but that’s a story for another time.

Amazingly enough in spite of the dry conditions, the corn in this corner of Pennsylvania is super yummy this year.  True, the kernels aren’t as plump as some years but they are very sweet and wonderful.

Bet you can guess what I’ll be nibbling on tonight!