By Kathryn Washburn Breighner
The sweet corn that we are getting now is superb. Sweet, pop in the mouth, kernels. Corn is the one food that says summer to me. I hold the family record for eating 36 ears in one sitting--and I could do it again today! A summer 'supper' when we grew up was a table filled with sweet corn and BLTs and, of course, we used the bacon grease on the corn. Yum.
I always cook at least twice as much corn as I think we'll eat (I usually have 6-8 ears!). The remaining corn is cooled, cut off the cob--I use a serrated knife and cut into a wide bowl that is sitting on a large piece of aluminum foil, really helps with the mess.
I bag the corn by handfuls, usually 2 large handfuls to a quart freezer bag, mark the date on the bag with a marker and put in the freezer. Sometimes I'll mark notes on the corn bag. The first bag that went in the freezer this summer says "Aida and Madina" because they were here for Summer Camp Aunt Kathie. When I pull that bag out of the freezer in February, I'll an immediate memory of our glorious summer week.
One of my favorite summer salads is black bean and fresh corn. After cooking corn, I'll save 1-1 1/2 cups for the next day.
To the corn, add:
2 cans drained black beans (I now cook a batch of beans on the weekend and put them in the fridge so if I'm using those beans, I use 3 cups)
1 med onion, diced
1 med green pepper, diced
3 T minced fresh cilantro
3 T olive oil
1 1/2 T balsamic vinegar
This salad will keep for several days in the refrigerator--if you have any leftovers which I never do.
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