Sweet Corn and…

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear “Iowa”?  (Besides the quirky blog girl with the cute dog…)

Most people think corn, fields, or potatoes.  (FYI: potatoes = Idaho. Close. Not really.)

Corn.  Dirt. Fields.  Every time I get off an airplane in the Quad Cities, I take in a deep breath of that fresh farm air.  Love it.  Smells like home.  And sometimes manure.  Eh.

The above field is next to our walking trail.  We tried to get Ike to take a cute picture next to the corn.  He told me he needs to talk to his agent if he’s going to keep modeling for this blog…so I got this….

One of the benefits of these lovely fields, besides their pretty looks, is sweet corn.  Starting at the end of July, almost all of our meals include sweet corn.  I have named this ~3 week period “Sweet Corn and” because all meals involve sweet corn and something else.

It’s the one time of year that I actually eat vegetables all week.  Who cares that it’s a nice starchy vegetable covered in butter and salt?

How do we cook it?  We shuck the corn.  (The dog is no longer allowed to be on the deck when we do this because he steals the corn and eats it.)  Next we bring a big ol’ pot of water to a boil.  Once it’s boiling we cook the corn for about 3-4 minutes.  (Is it sad that I had to ask Nate how “we” did this because I don’t cook?  I do, sometimes, help with the shucking.  Girl power.)

Sweet corn is best eaten on the cob with butter and salt.  Delicious.  It’s pretty decent frozen but there is nothing better than eating it straight off of the cob.

Any local foods that you enjoy in your area for a short period of time?  Do people in other parts of the country eat sweet corn for every meal during the end of the summer?