Monday, August 28, 2006, 19:22
Sweet!
I finally got some of our sweet corn in the freezer on Saturday. It was so dry for so long this summer, I'm surprised there was any out there at all.
And what's even more surprising is that so far (knock on wood) the raccoons have been leaving it alone. A few ears have had the tops bitten off by deer, but the raccoons would tear down the whole stalk and eat the ears, too.
When I picked the sweet corn late Saturday afternoon, I gave the husks to the horses.
Last year when we had sweet corn, Isabelle had only just arrived here, and she didn't have any idea at all what sweet corn husks were. She would pick up a husk, hold it in her teeth and bob her head up and down, with the husk flapping in her face, before she would try to eat it.
This year, with first screeeech! of the husk as I pulled off the first layer, Isabelle came on the run, nickering the whole way. She stood with her head pushed between the wires of the fence, watching my every move. When I tossed the husk inside the fence for her, she dove at it and happily started munching.
Kajun came for sweet corn, too, but as a horse who has always been afraid of his own shadow, I have to be careful about giving him husks. If I give him one whole husk, he will pick it up by the end, and then because the husk is dangling beneath his nose, he will get frightened and will start running around his pasture at top speed, scared to death because the husk is "chasing" him. And he doesn't know enough to let go of it, either, so it will stop "chasing" him. What usually happens is he runs around and around and around until, because the husk is dangling, it finally breaks off and drops to the ground, and then it is no longer "chasing" him.
The first time Kajun was scared of something like that many years ago (he is also afraid of long grass if I pick it for him for the same reason -- because it is dangling under his nose), I knew better than to try to get in front of him to stop him. A horse running in blind terror is not going to care whether he runs over the person standing in front of him.
To prevent Kajun from scaring himself silly, I have to give him just a small piece off the end of a cob or a small piece of husk that will fit in the palm of my hand, and therefore, will fit in his mouth all at once. [sigh]
Anyway, Isabelle got her husks to eat and Kajun got his little pieces of husk to eat, and they were both happy.
I ended up with a five gallon pail of ears of sweet corn to freeze. After supper and after I had taken the dogs for a walk, I cut the kernels off the cobs and put it into a pot and cooked it according to the recipe my mother used. I ended up with 8 containers of sweet corn to put in the freezer (with a cup and a half in each one; enough for a meal for Randy and me).
There's still more corn out in the garden that is not ripe yet, so with any luck at all, I will get a little more corn for the freezer. It is going to taste wonderful on those cold, snowy days in the dead of winter when hot summer days and bright sunshine are nothing but a distant memory.
If anyone is interested, here is the recipe I use for freezing sweet corn.
Sweet Corn for the Freezer
Cut raw corn off the cobs.
(I use a jelly roll pan to cut off the corn. I hold the cobs upright in the pan and let the corn fall into the jelly roll pan. I can cut off quite a few cobs before I have to dump the pan.)
Depending upon the size of the cobs, about 30 cobs will yield 4 quarts.
Measure into a large kettle:
4 quarts of corn
3 cups water
2 to 3 teaspoons of salt (if you like your corn salty, use 3 teaspoons, if you don't want as much salt, use 2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
Stir all ingredients together, bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool and put into freezer containers.
The important thing about sweet corn is to make sure it cools off relatively quickly. If the corn stays warm for too long, it can end up sour. I also use the jelly roll pan to cool off the corn before I put it in containers. I spoon the hot corn into the jelly roll pan and keep stirring it periodically until it is cool enough to go into freezer containers or freezer bags. Then I put it into the freezer right away.
LeAnn R. Ralph
Saturday, August 26, 2006, 18:49
It's That Time Again
Sophie is becoming a problem.
Every evening at around 10 p.m., our little gray kitty cat sits on the floor by the cupboard next to the refrigerator and looks so forlorn and meows so mournfully, it just about breaks my heart. The pupils of her eyes get huge, and it looks as if she might start crying any moment.
If no one pays any attention to her, she will go over by Randy and bump her forehead on his arm and chirp a little bit.
If Randy does not pay any attention to her, she will come and bump her forehead on my arm and chirp a little bit.
Then she goes back to staring at the cupboard by the refrigerator.
If Randy or I open the cupboard door, Sophie is transformed from a pitiful, sad little kitty cat into the happiest kitty in the whole wide world.
If we shut the cupboard door, she goes back to looking pitiful.
If one of us reaches into the cupboard, Sophie once again becomes a joyful kitty cat.
If we bring out what she's been waiting for, she turns into the HAPPIEST CAT IN THE WHOLE WORLD.
And what is it that Sophie is waiting for?
Her mouse-on-a-string, of course.
Way back when, Randy took one of the rabbit fur mice Sophie loves so much and tied a long piece of string to its tail. Sophie kept losing the rabbit fur mice (I have NO idea where they went to), and it was getting hard to keep her supplied with rabbit fur mice.
As far as Sophie is concerned, the mouse-on-a-string is the BEST kitty toy -- EVER!
If I say, "where's your mouse, Sophie?" -- the little gray cat practically climbs up my leg, looking for the mouse.
When I toss it out into the room so the string unravels from around it, Sophie is on it like a duck on a June bug. She grabs the mouse, and trots off toward the bedroom with me in tow.
Once we reach the bedroom, I toss the mouse onto the bed for Sophie. She has the best time jumping up on the bed -- off the bed -- on the bed -- off the bed -- in pursuit of the dreaded green mouse. (This particular one is green.)
And not only does Sophie love the mouse-on-a-string, so do the other cats. They like to chase it as much as Sophie does, although, seeing as they are all over 10 years old, they are not quite as ENERGETIC as Sophie. Although, to be fair about it, NO ONE -- animal or human -- is quite as energetic as Sophie.
When it's time for the mouse to go back in the cupboard, Sophie flops on the floor somewhere, content and happy that once again, she has saved the household from "the green mouse."
I guess I'm a little surprised that Sophie would react to the spoken word "mouse" the way she does. Reacting to a spoken word seems more like something a dog would do, not a cat.
Sophie never has been like other cats, though, so I don't know why I would think she would act like other cats now, all of a sudden. . .
LeAnn R. Ralph