Tag: how to

Easiest Way To Cook And Shuck Corn On The Cob

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

Place corn on the cob (still in the husk) directly onto the racks of your 400°F oven and bake for 30 minutes.
(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.
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

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.

5 Tips For A Great Volunteering Experience

Summer is a great time to start volunteering – the weather is great, the days are longer and organizations always have summer projects!

I’ve been volunteering regularly for several years and I’ve learned a lot along the way. Most volunteering experiences are great and lots of fun but sometimes they’re not what you were expecting and it can be a bit of a downer. Don’t give up though. These are my quick tips to ensure that you have a great volunteering experience that will make you want to do it again and again!

1. Choose a focus/organization. Don’t feel pressure to volunteer for an organization that you’re not interested in. You’re allowed to choose, in fact, it’s better if you choose your focus before you start looking for volunteer opportunities. Think about what you want to support: animals, children, learning, disease research, fitness, reducing hunger, social awareness, there’s so many choices! If you’re not sure what you want to do, explore a bit then only do what you enjoy – you’ll be more likely to stick with it.

2. Use your education/skills. Many organizations need help with graphic design, their website, administrative tasks, grant writing, woodworking, handyman related chores and a host of other skilled jobs. Why not volunteer your specialized skills?

3. Donating time vs. money. From time to time you may be asked for a monetary donation while volunteering at an event. The reasons range from offsetting event costs to general donations. It’s up to you if you want to give money in addition to your time and you are allowed to politely decline.

4. Sometimes there’s mice. If you’re volunteering somewhere and the experience has gone horribly awry (say…mice slowly dying nearby…yeah, that happened) try to keep a positive attitude until your shift is over. Then go out for lunch with your volunteer buddy, appreciate the crazy story that you’ve just earned and vow to volunteer somewhere else next time.

5. Find a friend. New (and crazy) experiences are always easier with a friend. The two of you can work together to find fun projects to participate in and you can make a pact to volunteer someplace on a regular basis (once a month works for my friend and I) and help each other to stick with it.

Bonus Resources!

Ready to start volunteering? Awesome! I’ve had good luck finding volunteering opportunities through both of these sites:

Can’t find an event that fits your schedule or interests? You can host an event of your own and invite your neighborhood and friends to help. (You can also post it on one of the sites above to find fellow helpers.) Fun events include:

Food drive – collect canned goods and drop them off with a local food bank
Supply drive – collect blankets, sheets, clothing, towels and other items for donation to local pet or homeless shelters
Clean up – get a group of people together and pick up trash around a local lake or park

If you’re thinking about hosting your own event, be sure to contact the organization that you want to drop items off at. This will ensure that you’re collecting items that they need.

Do you have volunteering tips of your own? Share in the comments!

katie: normal girl

How to Rehydrate Hydrangea Flowers

Don’t you just love a good farmer’s market? I’m lucky to have several near me and each one is a little different. One of my favorite farmer’s markets has an expansive selection of cut flowers. During my last visit I found these beautiful, white hydrangea blooms. I was sold right away and took a bundle home. When I unwrapped them I found a hidden stem that had sagged down and the flower was now shriveled and drooping. Judging by the poor state of the flower, the stem must have been out of the water all morning. For many other flowers that would’ve been the end of it, but not hydrangea flowers, you can bring them back! Follow the steps below when your hydrangeas start to get a little droopy looking, it’ll fluff them right back up and you can enjoy them for a few more days.

Bounty From The Farm: What are pullet eggs?

This past weekend I visited an adorable little farm out in the country, Lake Meadow Naturals. There’s a gravel lot where you park between the duck coop and the goats, and in front of you is a lovely field with rolling hills, huge oak trees and grazing horses. It’s as close to perfection as you can get.

On this little farm they also have turkeys, bunnies, beehives and, of course, chickens. The happy little hens have a massive coop with a big open yard for them to go wandering about. This is where you’ll find the pullets and their eggs. These female chickens are under a year old and have just begun to lay eggs. After they are a year old, they will be referred to as hens. A sign in the farm’s store explains the eggs:

The most special, and most precious, of pullet eggs are their first lay. These eggs have in them all of the vital essences of the chicken, which it has stored up its entire life. No subsequent eggs will ever taste the same. They are in limited supply as they only lay them in the first few weeks.

Once the pullets start laying regularly, their small pullet eggs become mediums, then large and sometimes extra large. You don’t typically see pullet eggs in the grocery store because their small size makes them less desirable to consumers and they are often sent to processing facilitates to become scrambled or powdered eggs. However, if you can find them at a local farm or farmer’s market, I suggest giving them a try. They are tasty on their own with a rich yolk that fries up nice but they are also great for making baked goods and are often coveted by pasty chefs for their rich flavor and consistency.

If you decide to bake with pullet eggs, be sure to check your recipe measurements. Most recipes call for large or extra large eggs which average about 3 tablespoons of egg. Pullet eggs are much smaller, so you may need to use 2 for every 1 large or extra large.

Now you know what pullet eggs are and that you should definitely try them. Happy egg hunting!

katie: normal girl

Check out more from my Bounty From the Farm series.

Host a Craft-ernoon Party

Today I’m a guest blogger over on Oak & Oats where I’m sharing tips for hosting a craft-ernoon party. I love to host a good party filled with food, crafts and glitter. If you’d like to make these glitter jars and host a party of your own, hop on over and check out this Valentine’s Day craft!

katie: normal girl

How To Get Pomegranate Seeds Out

Pomegranates are a round fruit that is typically in-season during the cooler months. Depending on where you live it can be anytime from September through April. You eat the flesh covered seeds (also Pomegranate - learn to get the seeds out at katienormalgirl.com | #howto #lifeskills #food referred to arils, which is actually the red portion that covers the seed) that are found inside, in a white membrane. The seeds have a tart, slightly sour taste that gets sweeter the longer it remains in the fruit. Getting the seeds out of the membrane can be tricky and there are two common methods, the water bowl method and the “beating it with a spoon” method. I prefer the later method. Despite the violent sounding nature of it, using the spoon method will get you a bowl full of seeds that are fully intact and unharmed.

You’ll need:

a sharp knife
a wooden spoon
a medium to large bowl
an apron/clothing protection

Before you start, you’ll want to put on an apron or drape a tea towel down the front of your clothing to protect it. Juice from the red arils can stain clothing.

Start by using the knife to score the outer skin of the pomegranate and pull it apart. Don’t just cut it in half because you’ll burst some of the arils which will create a mess and you’ll loose some of the seeds you’re working so diligently to harvest.

Next, take half of the pomegranate and pull the sides, stretching it in several places to loosen the seeds. Turn it over in your hand and use the back and side of a wooden spoon to hit the pomegrante. The seeds will start to fall out in your hand, dump them into the bowl and keep on going! Repeat with the other half.

That’s all there is to it! Now you can enjoy these tasty little delights as a snack by themselves, mixed into yogurt or on top of ice cream. Enjoy!

katie: normal girl

Want to learn how to cut and prepare more things? Check out Kitchen Skills.

DIY Monogrammed Vases

I found these fun glasses at a thrift store recently and decided that with a little bit of shine, they would make perfect little flower vases. I just can’t resist fresh cut flowers at the farmer’s market so I’m always in need of a vase or two.

The glasses already had a great etched pattern on them so I just added bits of gold trim and a gold-leafed “G”. The whole process was a lot easier than you might think.

Cutting A Bell Pepper, The Easy Way

You’re a green pepper dicing machine! Now use that diced green pepper in this easy, spaghetti casserole recipe and you’ve got dinner!

katie: normal girl

Want to learn more things? Check out the Life Skills area.

DIY Sugar Shapes

Just in time for National Hot Tea Month, sugar shapes! These fun little guys are a cinch to make and are great fun for a party or as a special treat for yourself.

Here’s a few extra tips to get you started:

If you want to add coloring to your sugar shapes, add a few drops of food color in your teaspoon, then fill the rest of the spoon with plain water and mix with the sugar.
When selecting a mold, be sure to select one that will make shapes that aren’t too large so you don’t end up with shapes that are three tablespoons of sugar each! Also be careful to select a mold that isn’t too shallow or your shapes may break easily.
It is a small amount of liquid and doesn’t seem like enough to wet all of the sugar but just keep working at it and it will all come together. In the end you’ll have a relatively dry mixture that presses into the mold really well.
After pressing the sugar into the mold, use the back of a knife to flatten the shapes.
The consistency of the mixture is the right combination of dry and wet that you only need to leave the sugar in the mold for a few minutes. If you have really shallow molds (not recommended but it certainly can’t hurt to try) I’d leave them in there for about 10-15 minutes before removing from the mold.
To get the shapes out, place a flat, rigid surface (like a small cookie sheet or I used a book with foil wrapped around it) on the top of the mold and flip the whole thing over. That way you’re not try to do the quick-flip-slam onto a counter top.

Have a good time making these and stop by for more tea bits all month long!

katie: normal girl

P.S. This is also a great way to make snow for a gingerbread house!