Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Grandma's Corn

I have heard the older you get the more you appreciate the things you took for granted when you were younger. : ) I have found this to be true in my life. Lately I have had a particular craving for a vegetable dish my grandmother use to make. I remember those muggy summer days she would harvest corn from her garden. After shucking and cleaning it, she would cut the fresh kernels off the cob. She could move the knife blade back and forth so loving and skillful, you would think she was playing a violin. She also used fresh tomatoes and okra all from her bounty. She would make huge pots of this and freeze it in individual bags. The smell of fresh corn would fill every room in the house. So yummy. It was delicious in the summer, but a great comfort dish in the winter.

After preparing this dish for myself...the first time in my adult life, I now appreciate all the hard work she put into preparing those "country" meals. Oh the memories that came back to me while cooking this meal. Some I had forgotten. Grandma passed away in '99 after living a very full life. She is so missed.
I took a few pictures of my endeavor. Some are not that great, but at least you get a glimpse.


These are some of the fresh tomatoes I used.


This is the okra. It is also fresh from the garden.


I didn't think to take pictures of my corn before I shucked it.



I now realize there is a lot of corn on one cob. Notice how closely shaven it is. I went over it at least two times.

This of course is a stack of the cobs.


I transferred my corn into this pot. After parboiling the tomatoes to remove the skin, I added them. I also washed the okra and cut off the stems and added it.



This is what it looked like while it was cooking. I let it cook on very low heat and kept it stirred to prevent scorching. It doesn't look too appetizing in the picture, but I assure you, it was delicious! We had homemade biscuits and a small roast to go with our veggies.



Now, on to dessert. I decided to try a cake recipe I over at Sharon's under her recipes. It is the Sour Cream Pound Cake.
I took my new mixer out that I told you about awhile back. I got it at Ross for $9.99!! I was blessed to get this.




I decided to use this Nordic cake pan. I didn't take a pic of the batter and pan before I started, but took it of the pan after I put the cake on a plate I hope this explains the crumbs in pan. : )


Out of the oven.........

And onto the plate. Beautiful, isn't it?


This is the finished product. I could have drizzled the glaze a little better and hopefully I will next time. My family has almost eaten all of it! It is so delicious. Thanks for sharing this recipe, Sharon!



Have a Blessed day!

19 comments:

Denise said...

Yummy, I know that was a delicious dinner my friend.

Beth/Mom2TwoVikings said...

OK - picture yourself a cooking instructor!

First question: what's the difference between parboiling and blanching? I've always seen the word "blanching" in instructions for removing tomato skins.

Q two: what's that Nordic cake pan? Never heard of that either but ya'd think my loony Swedish in-laws would have taught me about this already! LOL

So THAT'S what my cake from the other day should have looked like! *smacks forehead* LOL

Q three: I'm a SUCH a rookie - how do you make that glaze stuff? LOL

Sharon said...

Debbie,
The cake looks good! Now I'll have to go make one. I'm craving a piece right now.

BTW, in the picture of your empty pan, I see a little night light that looks like half a china cup. Am I right or wrong? If it is, where did you find it?!

Pearls of Wisdom said...

Dear Debbie,

Your pictures look so lovely and delicious. It looks like you have been having such a lovely time this summer. Enjoy! Thanks so much for sharing I am so blessed when I come here.

Hugs and Love,

Angel ():)

Blog is no more said...

Yum Debbie!! My mom used to make this 'soup' also when I was a kid. It is very good. My mom also made cream corn from 'field corn'. I could eat my weight in that stuff! But no one plants field corn around here anymore; it is all sweet corn. I'm sooo glad I am not the only 'country cook' around here. *smile*

Debbie said...

Beth, Well to me blanche and parboiling are the same....there may be some that would disagree. lol
The cake pan is just that... Nordic is just the namebrand.
Here is the recipe for the glaze.

Mix together 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tbsp water and 1/4 tsp. of vanilla extract and 1/4 lemon extract and drizzle over warm cake.

Sharon, yes it is a china cup nightlight. I got it from Hamrick's a couple of years ago. You know how I fancy to tea.....lol

Angel...you are sooo sweet. Yes, I have been very busy this summer. I am thankful for my family that God has given me and I always want to glorify Him in everything I say and do.

Lady, I told you we were on the same wave length...lol
It's amazing how simple things can be so delicious. I love the country cooking, but have to do without some of the "seasonings" used because I worry about the health issues. With all that considered, have you ever thought about how long our grandparents lived after eating all the grease and fatback??? You just have to wonder, huh? LOL...

Melanie said...

Now I'm hungry!! Looks delicious.

Marilee said...

You're right about appreciating the things I took for granted when I was younger!!!

I've also heard that the older you get the more you think about the hereafter...
You get someplace and wonder... "Hmmmm what am I here after???"

HEhehehehe just a little smile...

I apologize for being gone for 9 days. We were on vacation and enjoying new adventures and then trying to catch up when we got back... and also, if you read the blog I just posted you'll see that I've had a lot on my mind and I've been spending extra time studying God's Word.

Time has a way of getting away from us so quickly... and ever since FP imploded I've kinda gotten away from actually blogging regularly. On MySpace there's a lot of passing on bulletins, videos, poems, etc... and I only occassionally write an actual blog there. It's not like a close knit family there like we had at FP. There are MANY Christians there who are trying very hard to reach as many of the lost as possible, and of course my children are all there, and my grandson... but YOU ALL aren't there and I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

So I'll be trying to balance things in my life better so I can come on here more often.

I would appreciate prayers for me to die to myself more and to rid my life of any unneccessary things or idols that interfere with my relstionship with Jesus. I have such a deep desire to be who HE created and wants me to be and to leave all worldly ties behind without ever looking back!

And I want to be the best possible witness for my family members who are not walking with Jesus!!!

I pray for the great priviledge of being able to lead them to Christ!!!

Thanks for listening, Debbie! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!! I can't wait till we are all in Heaven together and we can hug and rejoice together!!!

God bless you sweet Sister!
HUGS! Love, Marilee

Marilee said...

PS I love all your pics and the food looks DELICIOUS!!!

Also, I was wondering if you want my personal email addy? Anita & I have been enjoying "talking" more personally that way...

If you want it you can either get it from Anita or I can post it and you can delete it as soon as you recieve it. Just let me know...

Debbie said...

Girl, you are crazy!!!! Yes, I think about the hereafter frequently!!! hehhehehehehe

I definitely want that email!!

Vacation, huh? Why didn't you tell us (and the whole world) you were gone, so you could have someone break-in, right? LOL

I know what you mean about relationship. I am feeling that "pull" of the Holy Spirit to come closer.

There is a praise and worship song my daughter sings that goes like this:

Breathe on me breath of God
Love and Life that makes me free
Breathe on me breath of God
Fan the flames within me

Teach my heart
heal my soul...


There are more words and you may know it. Just a beautiful song.

Unashamed said...

I noticed that teacup light right away!

Around here we call that kind of pan a "bundt" pan. I don't know if that's what it's really called, but there are lots of German folks around here, and that is what they call it. I thought the cake turned out beautifully - I was thinking to myself that the glaze was put on quite artfully actually.

I always thought that blanching was immersing in boiling water for 1 or 2 minutes and then putting the food immediately into cold water. You put it into cold water to stop the enzyme process that starts when you are cooking. Or something like that.

Lyndy said...

Wow that cake looks great. I too miss all the good cooking I grew up with and seems like the summer always reminds me even more.

Have a blessed weekend.

Lyndy

Marilee said...

LOL... YEP! That's me - CRAZY! My teen boys tell me that all the time and I say thank you cause life would be pretty dull if we weren't crazy! I'm crazy about JESUS most of all!!!

That is a beautiful song! I don't think I know it but the words are awesome!

I thought I had mentioned us going on vacation... hmmmmm - I guess I just dreamed it. hehehehe Anyway I'll post some pics soon.

Tomorrow we're going to Pittsburgh for the day. It's just over 2 hours each way (and we'll go through W Virginia on the way!)so it will be a FULL day! We're gonna go to the Carnegie Science Center, the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium, and possibly the National Aviary... depends on how much time we spend at the other places. We'll be exhausted when we get home but it'll be worth it!

Marilee said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Blog is no more said...

Hey Debbie, forgot to ask how many 'maters you used in your recipe?

Debbie said...

Sharon, I only used 2. One was fairly large and the other was medium size. Are you going to make some? We finsished off the last little bit yesterday. ummm...ummmmm

Pearls of Wisdom said...

Have a lovely weekend Debbie. My darling husband had the day off so we have been so busy today . I had a lovely dinner and we are off to the park before dusk. Will catch up soon.

Hugs,
Angel ():)

Dapoppins said...

I thought your post was about food, but there is a party goin'on here in the comments!

Wheeeeee!

Marilee said...

Whooo! 3 cheers for for comment parties!!! (Wink and Big Smile!)