Summerin' Succotash!

Summerin' Succotash

Huzzah, it's corn season! This year, we even tried to grow our own, and while we have a few very small ears, they certainly aren't ready for harvesting. Around here, the typical corn varieties we find are Butter and Sugar (alternating kernels of sunflower-yellow and butter colors), and Silver Queen (white-blonde kernels). We love them both and eat as much as we can from late July until the end of September when our local farmstands abound with ears.

A Couple in the Kitchen's own corn patch and Thai pepper plant

Straight off the cob is the perfect way to eat corn, in our estimation. But now and again we buy or cook too many ears and like to experiment with the leftovers. Some recent market finds mingled with our own garden veggies in our latest favorite side dish - succotash. 

Fresh mise en place for Summerin' Succotash

The recipe is simple and the result, summery fresh goodness. From the farmers' market, we shelled whole lima beans and sawed the corn off of two freshly shucked ears. From our own garden, we dug up a couple of shallots, shredded a few basil leaves, and chopped two tiny Thai hot peppers (love how they grow end-up!). We ran across the street and "borrowed" a beautiful red tomato from our neighbor which we diced. A little bacon grease leftover from that morning's breakfast, some time over medium heat, and a dash of seasoning and we had a side dish worthy of the season, perfectly paired with smoked pork chops.

Cooking process - so easy!

Substitution tips: You can use olive oil instead of bacon grease to keep it meat-free. If you can't find fresh lima beans, use about a cup's worth of frozen. Jalapeno would work instead of the Thai pepper as well.

Summerin' Succotash

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon bacon grease

2 shallots, peeled and sliced

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2 ears corn, shucked, kernels removed

1 quart fresh lima beans, shelled (yielding about a cup) 

1 large tomato, diced

2 Thai peppers, finely diced

kosher salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

13-15 basil leaves, shredded

Heat the bacon grease in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic powder and cook until they start to soften, about two minutes. Stir in the corn and beans and allow to cook until they are warmed through, about five minutes. Add the tomato and peppers and cook another 2-3 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and the cider vinegar. Remove from heat and toss in the basil leaves. Serve warm.

Grilled, smoked pork chop and "summerin' succotash"

Summer Corn and Cockles Pasta

No, we have not forgotten our promise to tell you more about our culinary adventures in New Orleans. We ate and drank our way through the city, took plenty of photos, spent time with wonderful friends, and now that we're home safe and sound, we need some time to organize our thoughts (and those photos!). So we will come back to that.

But having indulged in Southern style cuisine for all that time, for last night's dinner we wanted something lighter than what we've been eating. Chris went out to buy some produce and along with it, a pound of teeny tiny heart-shaped cockles that he thought would be great in a summery pasta dish. We used a garlic-parsley angel hair we bought at the farmers market a few weeks ago and made a tangy sweet sauce with Sicilian lemon vinegar.  Garlic added a much-needed kick and lemon zest boosted the fresh, light flavor. We liked it a lot, but might try it with some red pepper flakes next time. Can't find lemon vinegar? Use white wine vinegar and add a bit of lemon juice. Plain angel hair will work nicely as well.

Summer Corn and Cockles Pasta

(makes a light dinner for two or

four appetizer-sized plates)

Ingredients:

2 nests garlic-parsley angel hair pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 pound cockles in the shell

1 ear of fresh corn, kernels shaved off

1 teaspoon lemon vinegar

1 teaspoon simple syrup

1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Prepare the angel hair according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cockles and cook, shaking the pan often, until cockles begin to open. Add the corn kernels and vinegar and continue to shake the skillet to incorporate. Gently stir in the simple syrup and lemon zest and give it a couple of last shakes, cooking until all cockles are open. Set aside. Drain pasta and toss in cockles and sauce. Serve garnished with chopped cilantro.

Labor Day Weekend Corn and Black Bean Salsa "Nachos"

The school where Chris teaches has an amazing culinary program. Many of their students graduate to further their education at Johnson and Wales or the Culinary Institute of America, and the lunches he eats on a daily basis compare to some gourmet restaurants we've been to.

That hasn't been the case at Amy's school until recently, with the hiring of "Chef Dave" a couple of years ago, and the new addition of "Chef Debbie," both of whom are turning the school's culinary program upside-down (in a good way!!!). We non-culinary teachers got a taste of things to come Friday afternoon when a school-wide email advertised samples of "Labor Day Weekend Corn and Black Bean Salsa" for immediate noshing along with some conveniently packaged for us take home. Oh happy Friday!!!

Not ones to simply dip a chip, Chris and I took this delicious salsa to a whole other level by making nachos with it, using corn chips (Fritos to be exact) to heighten that delicious summer corn flavor. We laid out some corn chips, topped them with a cup of the salsa and some shredded cheese, and broiled them until the cheese melted. A fabulous snack, indeed! We saved the rest for our Labor Day BBQ with neighbors D and J who loved it as-is.

Laid out on aluminum foil

Topped with shredded cheese

Brown and bubbly nacho deliciousness

Special thanks to the FCS Kitchens at EHS for the samples and for sharing the recipe, (which I have typed verbatim below)!

Labor Day Weekend Corn and Black Bean Salsa

Ingredients:

5 ears corn on the cob, grilled or roasted

1 clove garlic, minced

3 Roma tomatoes, diced 1/2 inch

1 pepper (red, yellow or orange), diced 1/4 - 1/2 inch

1 small red onion, diced

8-10 sprigs cilantro, chopped finely

4 stalks chive, chopped

2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (the juice of 2-3 limes)

Cook off the corn on the cob; cut kernels off and place in bowl. Drain and rinse black beans and add to corn. Dice to spec the tomatoes, peppers, and red onion and add to bowl. Mince garlic and add to bowl. Remove cilantro leaves from stem. Discard stems. Chop cilantro leaves and place in bowl. Add to bowl the white vinegar and lime juice. Mix all ingredients. Place in presentation bowl and garnish with chopped chives.

Sweet Chili and Coconut Corn Soup *Award-Winning"

It's a Sunday afternoon and rain is falling lightly over our street. The smell of ozone and freshly moved grass is wafting through the screen windows. It's a damp and humid day, and we feel like curling up on the couch to watch a movie. Not very summer like, is it? Yet it is summer - we have proof:  there are a couple of ears of fresh corn on the counter and soapy-smelling cilantro growing in the garden. Sounds like we're making soup today. Warm, velvety, sweet yet spicy. "Soup is good food," anytime of the year.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ground coriander

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 13.5-ounce can light coconut milk

3 ears corn

juice of one lime

salt to taste

3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce

cilantro for garnish

Remove the corn kernels from the cobs and set aside, keeping the cobs. Place oil, onions, garlic and coriander in a large pot and heat to medium. Saute until onions are translucent and garlic is fragrant. Stir in the broth and coconut milk. Add the corn kernels and cobs and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes, then remove cobs and discard. Add the lime juice, salt, and sweet chili sauce. Blend to thicken slightly using an immersion blender. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro.