(7/2019) Summer is certainly a month to celebrate with picnics and all the good food associated with picnics. For us at Hollabaugh Bros., summer is a month to harvest! We are now picking blueberries, apricots, black raspberries, early peaches, early summer vegetables and hopefully sweet corn soon! It wasn’t until our son returned from PSU with a degree in Horticulture that we began planting vegetables. They have quickly become a favorite – and a staple – at our farm market. Local folks are quick to seek us out when they know that the "picking is good"! And this year? So far it has been very good. We’ve been able to bypass some of the nasty storms around us (fingers crossed – we have a long way to go), but have been fortunate to get adequate – and sometimes too much – rainfall.

Although I certainly love all the summer fruits, I am particularly fond of green and yellow wax beans, and sweet corn. I’m guessing you might be as well? We typically try to get seeds in the ground in such a fashion that we are harvesting both things by the 4th of July. Because of an incredibly wet spring, we got the sweet corn in a bit later than we had hoped so likely our own sweet corn will NOT be here for 4th of July picnics – but should be here till the middle of the month. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Flowering tassels form at the top of the corn stalk – anywhere from 4 to 8 feet high! Pollen falls from the tassels onto the silky thread below. Each silk is connected to an unfertilized kernel. An ear of corn forms as many kernels as the number of silks that are pollinated. The tassels are the male flowers. The kernels and ears are the female part. Way more scientific than you ever thought about, right?!? Sweet corn is harvested 60 to 100 days after planting – after the tassels are long gone and the silk has browned. Best way to tell if corn is ready to be pulled is to pull a few ears back to actually look at the kernels. If they are small and seemingly underdeveloped? It’s not ready yet – check back in a couple days. On the other hand, if they kernels seem very big and are hard to break with a thumb nail, the corn is too old and will taste starchy and not so good. Once you get the hang of it, it’s really not hard at all to determine when is the right time to pull.

Putting all that aside, rest assured that when you visit our market – or any of the other wonderful markets in our neighborhoods, the corn is freshly-picked and ready to eat. I hope you might enjoy some of my favorite corn recipes.

Baked Corn

Ingredients

• 1 Box Frozen Corn
• 2 Eggs, Lightly beaten
• 2 T. Flour
• 2 T. Sugar
• 1 C. Milk
• Salt & Pepper to Taste
• ½ C. Butter – cut in tabs to put over the top

Cooking Instructions

Mix corn, eggs, flour, sugar, milk, salt and pepper. Put into a buttered casserole. Add butter to top and bake in 300 degree oven for one hour.

Corn Custard

Ingredients

• 1 ½ C. Milk
• 2 C. Corn
• 3 Eggs, Separated
• 1 T. Sugar
• 2 T. Flour
• 3 T. Butter, Melted

Cooking Instructions

Mix milk, corn, egg yolks, sugar, flour and butter. Beat egg whites until peaks form. Fold into corn mixture. Pourinto a greased 2 quart casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees 45 to 50 minutes.

Corn Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 Can Green Giant Mexicorn
• 1 Can Cream of Celery Soup
• 1 Stick Butter
• 1 Package Yellow Rice
• 2 C. Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Grated

Cooking Instructions

Cook rice according to directions on the package. Drain well. Add butter, corn and soup. Mix well. Pour into a 1.5 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in a 350 oven.

Corn Pudding

Ingredients

• ½ C. Butter
• ½ C. Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 C. Sour Cream
• 1 8.5 oz package Corn Bread Mix
• ½ C. Milk
• 1 Can (15.5 oz.) Whole Kernel Corn (You can substitute with 2 cups of fresh corn)
• 1 Can (14.75 oz.) Cream-Style Corn

Cooking Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, beating well after each addition. Beat in sour cream. Gradually add corn bread mix alternately with milk. Fold in corn. Pour into a greased 3 quart baking dish. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until middle is set and lightly browned.

Corn Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 Large Onion, Chopped
• 2 Medium Green Peppers, Chopped
• ½ C. Butter
• ¼ C. Flour
• 2 C. Frozen or Canned Corn
• 4 Hard Boiled Eggs, Chopped
• 2.5 C. Shredded Cheese
• 2 T. Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 Tsp. Hot Pepper Sauce
• 1 Tsp. Salt
• ½ Tsp. Pepper
• 2 C. Cooked Long-Grain Rice
• 1 14.5 oz. Can Diced Tomatoes with Liquid

Cooking Instructions

In large skillet, saute onions and peppers in butter until tender. Stir in flour. Remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients except for ½ C. Cheese. Pour into greased 2.5 quart baking dish. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Top with cheese and let stand for 5 minutes.

How to Freeze Corn - Husk and de-silk chosen numbers of ears you wish to freeze. Boil a pot of water that will allow the corn to be totally submerged. When water comes to a boil, put de-husked, de-silked corn into the pot. When water returns to a boil, cook corn for 4 minutes (a bit more or a bit less is fine)

Immediately submerge into ice water. (This stops all cooking upon contact) When corn is chilled, remove from the cob and pack into freezer containers. Although, in my opinion, corn is one of the more "messy" summer fruits/vegetables to freeze, it is also one of the best the next winter!