This week we received our rent - a large bag of freshly picked corn-on-the-cob straight from our land. Now I can see you are all imagining mouthwatering, bright golden husks of sweet delight....
LUNCH - Corn on the cob
Ingredients:
Freshly picked Corn cobs (2 or 3 per person depending on size of cob and person)
Water
Pinch of Sugar
1 knob of butter per cob
Salt/Pepper to taste
Special Utensils required:
A cooker/hob/gas burner
Large lidded pan
Method:
1) Fill pan with water and bring to boiling point with a pinch of sugar
2) Drop in pallid, rather hard cobs.
3) Replace lid and simmer for a couple of minutes until at least some of them turn golden
4) Remove from pan, insert corn holders (jab end with fork)
5) Serve on a plate.
Note: do not yet smother with the precious butter until tested if edible.
6) Return cobs to pan for a further hour in the hope they will become more tender.
DINNER - Corn & Chicken chowder
Ingredients:
Cooked Corn
Chicken
Jipang
Onions (some big ones & some shallots)
Garlic
Chili
Coconut milk
Seasoning
Special Utensils required:
A cooker/hob/gas burner
Lidded pan
Method:
1) Remove boiled corn kernels from the cob (You can use the ones you've got left over from lunch)
Note: If you use your thumb to do this wait until the cobs are cold or you will get a rather large blister burn.
2) Coarsely chop the onions, garlic, chili and gently sauté in a little oil/butter until golden.
3) Add corn, diced chicken and peeled chunks of jipang
4) Stir in a cupful of water and seasoning to taste (in this instance I used a spoon of Gulai paste but it could have been anything) before covering with a lid to steam the chicken & jipang mixture until tender.
7) Add a cupful of coconut cream, bring back up to heat before serving on a bed of rice
Note: If you are experiencing severe dental problems serve with noodles not rice to make picking out the corn easier or simply omit the corn altogether from recipe.
COFFEE TIME SNACK - POPCORN
Ingredients:
Raw Corn Kernels (you've probably still got a very large bag of cobs in the fridge)
Oil
For dressing Butter, sugar or salt as you prefer
Special Utensils Required:
A cooker/hob/gas burner
Wide, heavy-based lidded pan
Method:
1) Heat a small amount of oil in the pan until it's the right temperature. To test this, toss in a couple of corn kernels replace the lid and wait for the pop. Note: Lift lid carefully, away from you, so the hot corn splatters on the window behind the hob and not on you
2) Throw in the rest of the kernels just enough to make a single layer on the base of the pan.
3) Replace the lid and swirl the pan around so as to coat all the corn in oil before returning to the heat to listen for the pop, pop, splatter bang, pop.......
4) Once they've cooled down, throw away the tiny blackened nuggets, making sure you scrape all the ones off the lid before soaking the pan overnight.
BREAKFAST - CORN FLAKES
Ingredients:
Cooked corn kernels (you may have to make a fresh batch unless you've still got some left over from yesterday's lunch and dinner)
Special Utensils Required:
Rolling pin (yep I have)
Oven (mmmm - tricky) or Frying pan (OK I've got several of those)
Method:
1) Roll out the individual kernels.
2) Sweep the resulting crumbs from the chopping board, you and the floor into the frying pan to dry-toast until they're crispy
3) Offer the result to your husband on a small saucer just to see
Actually the result of this experiment did have some relation to a breakfast cereal, just not cornflakes as we know them. More research on this discover that Mr Kellogg uses a 40 ton rolling pin and 600 degrees C, malted-air blowing, drum oven.
Current experiment: Have plate of raw corn kernels on Sun regulo MK9 (in-between showers) drying out for further attempt at pop-corn.
I think we basically have the wrong corn for anything remotely edible by a human, but as sweet "Mr Smiley" Botak took the trouble to peel and de-beard the lot of them it seems a shame not to try.
OK, Wayan have you made that catapult yet...
