Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Corn, Plumcot, Cherries.

We both went grocery shopping after bowling on Tuesday. As I have said before, Matt usually does it at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, but he has decided to take the car in for service on Wed. morning so not enough time so, for once, I got go. I saw some local corn on the cob so bought myself a couple, Matt not interested so probably wouldn't think of it. I cook my corn, in it's husk, in the microwave, 6 mins per cob, I do them individually so one is cooking whilst I am stuffing myself with the first one. I then cut off the stalk and shake it, holding the silk end, and lo and behold everything comes off at once. Actually worked for me this time once I'd loosened the leaves a bit. What I was going to say though, was I became annoyed with people shucking the corn in the store, deciding they didn't want  it and just leaving it lying there. Corn is such delicate stuff and once picked it deteriorates quite quickly enough without shucking it like that. I guess the store must end up with a
lot of shucked corn. I wonder if they would sell it at a discount?  Not that I would know what to do with it anyway, two is enough for me. I guess I could freeze it, But that probably wouldn't be much good unless I could flash freeze it. Maybe they just sell it for animal feed or something. By the way, I don't put anything on my corn, not butter, not salt, nothing and it is delicious. About the only time Matt will eat corn is if it is cooked on a barbecue and then it has to be done properly. In the States we could buy Birds Eye frozen corn which is, of course, flash frozen, which we would soak in water for a while and then barbecue. Deeelicious. Birds Eye is not in this part of Canada unfortunately. With fresh corn, you can soak the whole cob, leaves on, a fairly long time and then cook it in its leaves. You can remove the leaves too to get them like the pic above. Not as good unfortunately but OK. I have just eaten corn for my afternoon snack, but I could make a mess of those in the picture.

Whilst doing the shopping, I came across a fruit I had never heard of before, a Plumcot. As the name implies it is a cross between a plum and an apricot. I decided to buy one to try. It better be good, it cost $1.41 - for one fruit. They are about the size of a peach - a lot bigger than the average plum. Just reminded me of a blogger from South Africa, Ben Trovato, that I read. He was complaining that he had bought some cherries and then suddenly discovered he had paid R 35.99 for 15 cherries. That's $3,35. They were also from England and as he said, SSA have their own cherry trees, acres of them. A lot of money for 15 cherries - I agree.

I was delighted to discover that Michael Hicks' last book in the In Her Name series, called Mistress of  the Ages, is now available. This series is an alien contact story with a difference. Excellent series in sets of three. Each of the three sets has a first book which is a free ebook. I really don't remember how I found them originally, but I have been waiting for this last one forever, or it seems like. I may have to do a re-read of the first two in this section just to refresh myself. The beginning book is called First Contact and is actually pretty frightening. This is the blurb on his website: The Terran survey ship Aurora makes a startling discovery in an uncharted star system: two planets inhabited by an advanced, and decidedly unfriendly, non-human civilization. Disabled by gigantic alien warships before it can escape, the Aurora is boarded by nightmarish blue-skinned warriors with claws and fangs who slaughter the crew in ritual combat using primitive weapons. The sole survivor, Midshipman Ichiro Sato, is returned to Earth as a messenger bearing a device that warns of humanity's impending doom... 

This is a recipe from Giada de Laurentiis at FoodNetwork.com and is perfect for Vegans I think. Mind you at this time of year th asparagus won't be so good, but not everyone is as particular about it as I am. I would probably use pecans too. I don't know where Giada gets her walnuts, but after English walnuts I find the ones I can get here are somewhat bitter.




Creamy Farfalle with Cremini, Asparagus, and Walnuts

    Creamy Farfalle with Cremini, Asparagus, and Walnuts
  • serves 6 - 8



Courtesy of: Giada De Laurentiis







Ingredients

Salt
1 lb(s) farfalle pasta
3 Tbsp butter
1 lb(s) cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 lb(s) thin asparagus, trimmed, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
1 cup mascarpone cheese
1 pinch nutmeg, freshly grated
¾ cup walnuts, toasted
¼ cup parmesan, freshly grated

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the farfalle and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and saute until tender and most of the juices have evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the asparagus and saute until the asparagus is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add the farfalle. Stir in the mascarpone and nutmeg and toss until the cheese coats the pasta, adding the reserved cooking liquid 1/4 cup at a time to moisten. Stir in 1/2 cup of walnuts. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper. Mound the pasta in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and remaining 1/4 cup of walnuts. Serve.


Have a great day
 

22 comments:

  1. My husband does the food shopping too and I do appreciate it but it's good to get into the shops myself once in a while. I love sweetcorn and I'm just about to plant some. A summer treat to look forward to.

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    1. I miss going to the grocery store Helen so when I can go I love to do so. Never grown corn myself, but there are fields and fields of it round here and a lot of the farms sell it at their gates.

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  2. Hi Jo - the corn on the cob are in season now ... and I buy them all the time - I actually cut off the kernels and use them in casseroles often with fish ... they are so delicious. I didn't get so many cherries this year ... but they are delicious. The creamy farfalle with cremini looks delicious ... and I'm hungry now! Off for some raspberries before they go out of season.

    Glad you could get your corn and thanks for your comment over at Denise's .. cheers Hilary

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    1. I remember not being able to buy corn in the UK Helen, and my father, having been stationed in Rhodesia, used to talk about eating it there. Couldn't get cherries this week, not sure why. Tried cutting off the kernels once and made a mess of it. Never tried it again since.

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  3. Arghhhh. I was in the grocer's this weekend and saw corn on the cob. Unfortunately, one of the produce clerks was shucking all the corn and putting it out for display. I wanted to scream. These are the same fools who have the potatoes next to the onions, another food no-no in my book.

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    1. How stupid of them Denise, didn't you tell them? I think I would have done so. Don't know about potatoes and onions, what's the problem there?

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  4. It shocks me how much produce costs. Everyone complains about the obesity problem in the USA but when fruit and veggies cost an arm and a leg vs. 10 boxes of Kraft dinner for $2, what are poor people supposed to do? Our grocery stores let you shuck in store too, but I've never seen corn cobs left on the pile. I was a little turned off of corn this year after buying a shrink wrapped package of 5 cobs w/ some husk still on and finding worms under the husk. GROSS. Plus Russell likes his corn shaved off the cob and that's too much messy work. So I get canned or frozen.

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    1. You are right, it is getting more and more expensive JoJo. It's the same here. I don't think shucking in the store is a good idea under any circumstances. Watch the canned corn JoJo, it's full of sugar. I stopped buying it.

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  5. Around here, they do sell the extra for animal feed. Same with the old bread. Couldn't eat my corn without salt and butter though.

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    1. I guessed that's what they would do. You could if you had to Alex. Actually I started doing it for diet reasons and now I find it so good, it's unnecessary to add butter and salt. I've done that with one or two things over the years. Artichokes is another, I used to slather them with dressing but stopped doing so and now I prefer them plain.

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  6. Love the sweet corn! I keep my potatoes and onion in the same drawer? I'd love to know why that's a no no. $1.41 per fruit, now that's expensive. It better have some magical power! :)

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    1. Me too Yolanda. I want to know why it's a no no too. Maybe I will be able to travel time LOL

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  7. My husband loves corn on the cob. We both like the frozen ears during the winter. He can eat four ears or more in one setting.

    Susan Says

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    1. Mine only eats it from the barbecue. 4 ears? I was stuffed eating two yesterday.

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  8. I've never tried microwaving corn on the cob. I should try that. And that book sounds like something I'd be interested in checking out. Thanks for the recommend. :)

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    1. You should David, it's so easy and quick. I have really enjoyed these stories, as I said, the first book in each trilogy is free on line. I am busy reading something else at the moment, but I certainly hope to get to this book soon. Maybe I should read the first two books in this trilogy though as it's been quite a while. I do hope you enjoy them. I couldn't stand the aliens at the beginning, but eventually, I got to understand them and quite like them.

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  9. Hi human, Jo,

    My human and I cannot stand corn on the cob, no matter how it's cooked. My human gets strange looks when he tells people he doesn't like corn, unless it's corn flakes.

    Pawsitive wishes and doggy kisses,

    Penny xx

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    1. Penny, I am not surprised that you don't eat corn, but I have had dogs that did. I also would give Gary strange looks, I love corn on the cob although I don't like corn flakes.

      Pawsitive wishes and lots of licks.

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  10. Our store puts some of its fresh corn, already shucked and cleaned in packages like meat comes, with the plastic over. It's great for busy days.

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    1. The closer it is to the plant, the better it is Melissa. I wouldn't buy that wrapped corn if I could possibly avoid it. Just would not taste the same.

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  11. A buck fourty-one for a single piece of fruit. Yikes.

    So ... was it good?

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    1. Dunno yet Ivy, it is only just getting ripe enough I think. I'll let you know.

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