Tag: happy blogs

Easiest Way To Cook And Shuck Corn On The Cob

Easy Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob - easiest way to cook and shuck corn ever!

For years I would buy fresh corn on the cob, shuck it and get the sticky silks all over the place and somehow there were still more on the cob. Not to get too infomercial on you, but I wished there was a better way…and there is! Oven-roast those suckers!

When my friend first told me how to do this, I was convinced that shoving paper-like husks into a hot oven would result in roasted corn and an epic house fire. I’m happy to say that only one of those things happened. (It was the corn thing; if it were the house thing then this would be a terrible method for cooking corn.) The corn comes out of the oven cooked to perfection and the silks are magically stuck to the husk instead of the corn. Just peel the husk off and the silks come too!

How to make this fabulous corn on the cob

  1. Place corn on the cob (still in the husk) directly onto the racks of your 400°F oven and bake for 30 minutes.
  2. (Optional) Continuously open the oven door to peek inside and make sure the corn is not on fire…despite your friend’s insistence that it is not.
  3. Once the corn is done roasting, remove it from the oven and let it cool for about 10 – 15 minutes before asking your dinner guests to shuck a 400°F object (lesson learned).

That’s all there is to it! (And you thought the house was going to burn down…)

Want to learn more about corn? Check out my Bounty From The Farm: Sweet Corn post and coming on June 11 (National Corn on the Cob Day) I’ve got a great Edamame, Corn and Tomato Salad that makes a great side dish at outdoor barbecues.

katie: normal girl

Bounty From The Farm: Sweet Corn

Bounty From The Farm-Sweet Corn from katienormalgirl

While milling around my local farmer’s market last weekend I visited one of my favorite local farmers where I found a lovely pile of sweet corn. He had just harvested the corn earlier that morning so it was about as fresh as I could get without growing it myself! Armed with my bushel of corn, I decided that I just had to tell you about one of my favorite veggies: sweet corn.

Is all corn “sweet corn”?

Sweet corn has a higher sugar concentration than its counterparts, flint and dent corn and popcorn – all of which have a high-starch content. Flint and dent corns are typically grown with the intention of processing into corn meal and flour for many corn-based foods like tortilla chips, polenta and grits. Sweet corn is grown to be consumed as a whole kernel, whether cut from the cob, frozen or canned.

Is it ripe?

As soon as sweet corn is harvested, its sugars begin to breakdown, so the smaller you can make the farm-to-table gap, the better. Corn is ready for harvest (and eating) when the silks begin to turn brown but aren’t dry.

Peel the husk down a little bit; if the kernels go to the top and are plump (not dimpled) then you’ve got a fresh ear of corn. As a final test, puncture a kernel and if the juice is milky then you’ve got corn at its peak of freshness. Time to eat it!

If you’re ready to get cooking, this is (in my humble, corn-loving opinion) the easiest way to cook and shuck corn.

katie: normal girl

 

 

Just in case you didn’t know… 

Husk – the green, leafy covering over your corn.

Silk – the stringy bits at the top of corn. Along with the husk, they are removed before eating the corn.

Shuck – the processes of removing the husk and silk from the corncob or just another word for peeling – you peel a banana; you shuck corn on the cob.

Ear of corn – refers to a single cob of corn, in or out of the husk.

Check out more from my Bounty From the Farm series.

Rosemary, Part I: Cultivation

HERB PROFILE OF THE MONTH
CULTIVATION  |  CULINARY  |  HERBALISM

Featured Herb-Rosemary - grow it, cook with it and use it medicinally from katienormalgirl.com | #Cultivation

Rosemary is one of those fabulous herbs that is pungently fragrant and has a multitude of uses. It’s also very pretty to look at with tiny, thin leaves on sturdy woody stems, which makes some varieties great for shaping into tiny topiaries. Other varieties tend to stay low and stretch along the ground, making them perfect ground covers.

PLANT  |  GROW  |  HARVEST

Rosemary likes full sun and a quick-draining soil – indoors or out, in a pot or in the ground, this is what it needs. In warmer climates Rosemary can be grown outdoors as an evergreen shrub. In cooler climates, you’ll need to take it inside when winter sets in and frost is immanent.

In dryer climates start with a soil-based compost and bark to ensure that the soil remains damp but not wet – rosemary hates wet feet. In a humid climate, start with a soil-based compost and add a bit of sand to encourage quick drainage.

When planting rosemary in a pot, an uncoated terra cot pot is best. This will allow water and moisture to drain from the bottom and through the container’s permeable sides.

Rosemary can easily be grown from cuttings. Start them in spring or summer to give them enough time to develop before the cooler weather arrives.

Rosemary herb profile sample - original PDF available in the Download Gallery from katienormalgirl.comTo harvest rosemary, snip off the tender stems just above the woody growth and pull the leaves off of the stem for use either fresh or dried.

Grab a PDF of this info along with more cultivation stats (including pH, additional varieties, companion planting, and more) from the Herb Library in the Download Gallery.

Part II: Culinary – coming June 11
Part III: Herbalism – coming June 18

Whatta think? Will you give growing rosemary a try?

katie: normal girl

How to Build The Perfect Veg Sandwich

Perfect at summer barbecues for your vegetarian friends, Veg and Hummus Sandwich from katienormalgirl.com | #meatlessmonday #recipes #sandwiches

As summer approaches and backyard barbecues commence, I’m always on the look out for filling, vegetarian sandwich that’ll go perfect with all of the classic summer side dishes (chips, baked beans, corn on the cob…it’s all so delicious). This sandwich is it for me. It’s great because all of the toppings can double as burger toppings (if you’re a mixed meat and veggie crowd), it’s great for taking on hikes and it’s packed with protein so it’s filling and energizing.

HOW TO BUILD THE PERFECT VEG SANDWICH

The ingredients:

  • rustic ciabatta roll (or other hearty, crusty bread of your choice)
  • cilantro hummus (if you can’t find hummus, just mix a handful of chopped, fresh cilantro into your favorite classic hummus dip)
  • cucumber slices (I prefer english or pickle cukes because they are crunchier than the standard cucumber)
  • tomato slices
  • mixed baby lettuce or spinach
  • shaved or julienned carrots (use a vegetable peeler to shave the carrots and create thin carrot ribbons)
  • olive oil (not optional, I used to think it was but it is not)
  • sea or kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

The layers:

  • Start with your ciabatta roll. Spray or brush a thin layer of olive oil onto both the top and bottom pieces of your roll. I didn’t used to do this, then a friend of mine suggested adding it and wow! What a difference it makes. I was honestly shocked that a little olive oil could make the sandwich taste better but it does – don’t skip it!
  • Follow with a sprinkle of any large granule salt, like sea or kosher salt and a dusting of fresh cracked pepper on both sides of the roll.
  • Then spread a layer of the cilantro hummus on each side of the roll.
  • Start building your layers on the bottom of the roll with the carrots, followed by the lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber.
  • Pop the top of your roll onto the sandwich and bite into the delicious-ness!

This sandwich is so tasty that it doesn’t just have to be for the vegetarians in your group, the meat-eaters will love it too!

katie: normal girl

Freebie Download: June 2014 Calendars and Wallpaper

Freebie June Calendars from katienormalgirl.com | #free #downloads #calendars

On a recent Nature Walk I went wandering off the path and found this wonderful moss covered pine tree trunk. I imagine that it must have fallen some time ago. Did it make a noise? Who’s to say! What I can say is that it is quite lovely and I always find moss to be such a calming plant. Don’t you?

This month’s calendars and tablet/smartphone wallpapers (and more!) are available for free in the Download Gallery.

Happy June!

katie: normal girl

June 2014 Calendar, Moss growing on a fallen pine tree from katienormalgirl.com | #free #downloads #calendars

Freebie Download: May 2014 Calendars and Wallpaper

Download Gallery - Freebie May calendars and wallpaper from katienormalgirl.com | #free #downloads #calendars #wallpaper

The flowers are in bloom and there’s color everywhere! I was recently wandering around a lovely public garden and found these two little flowers on a wooden bench. After photographing them I kept wandering down the garden path. When I came back a little later, they were gone – probably picked up and tucked away in the hair of whatever child left them there, not a bad fate for such pretty little flowers.

This month’s calendars and tablet/smartphone wallpapers (and more!) are available for free in the Download Gallery.

Happy May!

katie: normal girl

Download Gallery - Freebie May calendars and wallpaper from katienormalgirl.com | #free #downloads #calendars #wallpaper