Freezer Corn Tutorial

3 for $1 is an average price for sweet corn. 4 for $1 is really good and 5 for $1 is amazing. If you happen to see that kind of deal, you can't pass it up. Free up some space in your freezer if you can, because you will be thanking yourself when you are eating farm fresh corn in January. The taste is amazing and much better than canned corn and even the freezer aisle stuff.

Items needed:
Bundt pan
electric knife (try to get one with a bottom squeeze trigger if you can. Thumb triggers will tire you faster)
stock pot
Jelly roll pan
Ziplock freezer bags (I use pint sized)
Tongs
1 cup measure 
Big bowl

Ingredients:
Butter (optional)
Salt (optional)
Pepper (optional)
30 ears of summer sweet corn

Directions:

Preparation
Fill stock pot 2/3 full of water and boil on high. It will take twenty minutes or more for this much water to reach a boiling point, so you have plenty of time to husk your corn cobs while you wait. Remove all leaves and as much silk as you can. I like to stack my cobs on a jelly roll sheet so they are easy to move from the prep area to the cooking area.

Boil
My stock pot fit 15 ears of corn in each batch. You may get more or less depending on the size of your pot. Using your tongs (carefully!) place the ears in the pot. Leave a good three inches of headspace between the water level and the top of your pan so you don't over boil. The corn will drop the temperature of the water so you will have to wait a bit before it returns to a rolling boil. As soon as it does, set your timer for 6 minutes.

Blanche
Fill a clean sink with cold water and ice cubes. When the boiling time is up move the corn from the pot to the sink and let soak until they are cool enough to handle. The cold water stops the cooking process and helps seal in the color and nutrients.

Cut
This is the fun part. Place the tip of the corn cob in the center of the bundt pan. Hold the corn vertical with one hand and with the other hand slice down the sides of the corn with your electric knife. Try to stop before you reach the the end, or you will nick your pan and dull your knife (obviously I learned the hard way. Poor little pan!) When your pan fills up, dump it out in your collection bowl. Also, don't cut too deep, or you will get tough chewy stuff in your corn.

Season
I prefer to leave my corn plain and season it when I serve it, but if you know that you will always want butter on your corn, this is the time to do it. Melt your butter in your microwave. I'd do one cube per thirty ears but you can do more or less depending on how buttery you like your corn, and maybe a tablespoon of salt and and a tablespoon of pepper, but it is really up to your discretion. Coat evenly.

Measure
I used three cups per bag, because that's an ideal serving size for my family. 30 ears of corn gave me nine bags, but it will be different every time based on the size of the cobs you find.

Seal
Squeeze out as much air as you can and seal tightly. A food vacuum would be ideal for this, but I've had freezer corn last in regular ziplocks for an entire year without freezer burn.

Freeze
I like to stack my bags flat on a cookie sheet so they freeze in manageable shapes. As soon as they are frozen you can stack them them on their ends to make more space in your freezer.

Pico De Gallo

Pico De Mayo. That's what my Spanish-inhibited better half called this. I think he's confusing his holidays with his food, but at least he's in the right genre. I watched an acquaintance make this at a luncheon last summer. She didn't have a recipe, just fresh ingredients from her garden and a lime juicer. Here's my attempt at recreating her magic.

Pico De Gallo

10-15 roma tomatoes
1 large white onion (must be white. Yellow onions are too pungent to eat raw)
1/2 bunch of cillantro
2-3 limes
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Prepare romas by washing them, slicing them down the middle and squeezing the seeds out under running water. Once cleaned, cut the ends off and dice. Place in bowl. Next dice your white onion and add to the bowl. Wash your cilantro and cut the stems off before chopping finely and adding to the romas and onions. Slice your limes length wise and squeeze over the other ingredients. Discard lime when finished. Salt and Pepper. (I use sea salt for this, and liberally. It's hard to over salt a raw tomato in my opinion. I probably use two or three teaspoons by the time I'm done.) Refrigerate.

This should be eaten within a few days. The salt draws the juices out of the tomatoes and it can get soggy and limp after a while.

Simple and easy, right? I like to eat it with tortilla chips or use it as a topping for tilapia or burritos. It makes for a fresh summer snack or even a light lunch.

Grandma's Frog Eye Salad

Because it is summer.
Because it is delicious.
Because it's awesome to tell your kids mid bite what it's called.
Because calling it a salad makes it healthier. Psychologically.
Because it tastes good, that's why.
How many reasons do you need?
I don't need anymore. I'm taking this good stuff to an end of summer bash a few hours from now and my only regret is that I'll have to share it.
Love this stuff.

All credit for this recipe goes to my grandma, and my mom who dictated it to me from my grandmother's stained and tattered original recipe card. I love that food can connect people like that, and I want copy of that card, Mom.  

Grandma's Frog Eye Salad

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1tbs flour

1 3/4 cups pineapple juice (drained from the 2 pineapple chunk cans)

2 1/2 tsp salt, divided

2 eggs, beaten

1 tbs lemon juice

1 tbs cooking oil

1 pkg acini di pepe (16oz)

2 cans mandarin. drained

2 cans pineapple chunks. drained

1 can crushed pineapple. drained

9 oz non dairy whipped topping

1 cup colored miniature marshmallows

1 cup shredded coconut

Directions

Combine sugar, flour, 1/2 tsp salt, pineapple juice and eggs. Cook over medium heat, stirring until thickened. Add lemon juice. Cool mixture to room temperature. Bring water, 2tsp salt and oil to boil. Add acini di pepe. Cook at rolling boil until it is done. Drain. Rinse with water and drain again. Cool to room temperature. Combine egg mixture and acini di pepe. Mix lightly but thoroughly. Refrigerate overnight in an air tight container. Add remaining ingredients. Makes about 25 servings.