Corn...Corn...Everywhere...

I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to get some corn to freeze. Fried corn (that's what we call it in the south, but it's basically creamed corn...AND it is SOOOOOOOO good. Ben's mom usually does this and I've been thinking about tasting some of that yummy corn a lot lately...maybe it's something about the summer. I don't know. My Aunt Madge does the same thing with hers...man is it good!
So, after a tutorial from Mom Hazlewood I set out Saturday morning to begin my little adventure. There is a really nice Farmer's Market in town so I left pretty early Saturday morning on a mission for some yummy white corn. I found one booth that had them 2 for $1 ($6/dozen). I have no idea if that is a good deal or not, but it was better than the other stand I saw, so I went with it. I thought I would start out small since I didn't know if I would get into this and majorly regret it, so I ended up with a case of 4 dozen (mainly b/c it was easy to carry in that box all nice and packed up already).
Here's a little mini-tutorial for y'all in case you want to give it a whirl. It's SOOO worth it...and I must say I felt very pioneer-ish! :)
Here's my little stash of yummy corn. This group is white...I prefer white or the white & yellow mix (Peaches & Cream). The key to doing this is to do it OUTSIDE. It is quite messy. Jack was taking a nap, so while Sam played in the driveway, I shucked the corn.
Here's my helper. Well, he really didn't help, b/c he wouldn't touch the corn, but he was there for moral support. We were only about 15 minutes in before he decided he needed a popsicle! :)

Once I shucked and silked all the corn, I washed it really good. Thanks for the tip, NaNa, to leave on the end thingy (not sure what they call that - I'll call it the "corn handle")...but it was SO much easier to cut off when I could hold on to that thing. Then you cut the corn off. It takes about 3 different times. First, cut off that top layer of kernel...then a little more and then scrape all that yummy corn milk/juice off into your bowl or whatever you use to collect it all.

Warning: corn will go EVERYWHERE while your cutting it off. It was nice to do it outside so I didn't totally destroy my kitchen. Those 4 dozen ears filled up about 2 of these bowls. It takes A LOT of corn!

I cooked the corn a bit in the microwave before serving them up in the bags to freeze. I think I cooked them about 3 minutes, then stirred and cooked for about 3 more minutes. Let that cool and then put them up to freeze. Mom H said she always uses freezer bags. I like that too b/c they take up a lot less room b/c they lay flat. I didn't really know how much to scoop into each bag so I just guessed. One of these above would probably serve about 4 people (or 2 if it's Ben and I eating it)! :) So, of all that corn, I got about 5 different bags. Of course we ate one that night, so I've got 4 left now. I will DEFINITELY be going back to the farmer's market next weekend for more. He said they'd have them for 6 more weeks, so we may have corn in all the freezers here! Ha!

For supper that night, we had veggie night! I cooked some of that corn. YUM! You can put in on with some butter (NaNa said Grandmother Hazlewood would put crisco and butter - I guess that's part of the reason it's so good). I added a bit of water too and salt and pepper and just cooked it low and slow. Boy was it good! Thanks NaNa for all the pointers!

I also bought some green beans that I broke and cooked that night (YUMMMY...another one of my favorites...fresh green beans) and some squash and zucchini! I love cooking (and eating) all of that yummy freshness!