Ah! Creamed Corn! Terrible out of a can, ok if you buy it frozen, but simply AMAZING when made homemade. This was my first time making it, but it was very easy. And I actually made it to re-use leftovers.
Homemade Creamed Corn
3 ears of corn, husks and silk removed
1/8 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp. lemon zest
1 tbsp. black pepper
2 tsp. olive oil
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup water
2 tbsp. butter
Carefully slice corn kernels from the cob and then use a spoon to remove any pulp that may be remaining. In a large pan, saute the onions, garlic, 1 tbsp. butter, the olive oil, the lemon zest, and black pepper, until onions and garlic start to look translucent. Add corn kernels. Stir a few times to mix seasoning, then add the water and sugar. Cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the sour cream and nutmeg, stirring briskly, and cook until sour cream dissolves into a sauce. Serve immediately by the bowlful.
It's been a long time since I made tamales, and in fact I have only made them with chicken before. I have been religiously saving my corn husks (hi, recycling!) and freezing them for future usage however. And last night I had a particular beef craving of the grass-fed (of course) variety.
So my daughter and I made tamales. And while making tamales with a 7 year old can result in masa dough in the floor and some tears, it was a good learning and team-building experience.
I used the same dough I used before in my Chicken Tamale recipe, and did different seasonings with the beef:
The dough:
3 cups masa harina
5 1/3 tsp. butter
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. baking powder
4 c. chicken broth
Ah. For some reason I didn't remember this as being particularly labor intensive. It kinda was. But well worth it.
Soak your corn husks in water to make them pliable. Cook meat mixture until almost browned. Mix up the dough in a large bowl, it will look like a large bowl of hummus.
Before assembling the tamales, get a large pot with a steamer basket ready. Take a corn husk (the fatter the better) and spoon about 2 tablespoons of dough in it. Make a slight indention into the dough with your thumb, and spoon a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful in. Wrap the cornhusk around the dough and meat, somewhat like rolling a burrito. Tie it closed with a skinny piece of corn husk. Stand the tamale straight up in the steamer. Repeat until all materials are used. Steam for 90 minutes. Serve hot.
The hubby liked his with salsa, the rest of us ate them plain. The baby especially liked them. And the last episode of tamales got a poor review from the older child, but since she assembled them this time, she ate them. Several. And cleaned up the masa flour she spilled in the floor without complaint. (Miracle of miracles!)
Ah! Corn Season! 4th of July, Cookouts, Grillouts. Should we settle for plain jane summertime grub?
Hell, no!
So we make simple a.k.a. beat the heat fixes to old favorites to make them a bit more tasty.
Enter my long-standing tradition of jalapeno lime butter.
Just typing the words makes me hungry.
Jalapeno Lime Butter
1/2 stick butter (preferably organic and made from raw milk)
about 5 slices pickles jalapeno, chopped finely
zest of 1 lime
juice from 1 slice of said lime
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Add all other ingredients and stir well. Serve warm over corn or refrigerate to harden and serve like regular butter. Either way, it's scrumptilillicious!
Yum, applesauce. UM, except, have you read how much sugar and preservatives is in a lot of the store-bought stuff?? I try to buy the "natural" kind, the kind that has ingredients limited to apples and water.
But, occasionally I make it homemade. The kids love it and it's very very simple. Today I found 3 apples that were not really crunchy enough to be yummy anymore but not bad either. So I sauced them. My kids eat a container of applesauce in 1 day anyway, so I figured it would help clean out the fridge and reduce waste.
Ingredients:
3 apples (any variety or a mix)
6 cups of water
cinnamon
Wash and chop your apples into little bits. Bring the water to a boil, and toss the apples in the pan. Boil about 10 minutes or until apples are very tender. Strain apples, discarding water. Dump the apples into the food processor, and add cinnamon to taste. I am addicted to the McCormick Spice Grinder.. it makes it easy to have "fresh" ground cinnamon, which tastes extra yummy. Pulse the apples 3-4 times or until you get the consistency you want. Serve immediately or refrigerate if you prefer it cold. It also freezes well. Makes a great topping for oatmeal.
AAAAAGGGHHHH! It's hot! It's that time of year that no matter what you seem to do, you can't stay hydrated enough. Enter the homemade electrolyte drink. Contains no artificial colors, no preservatives, and I got the recipe from a beekeeper at the Suwannee Farmer's Market. It's good stuff. But honestly, noone else in my family will drink it. They're addicted to Gatorade. Go figure.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. honey (preferably local)
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar (preferably raw)
1 glass water
Put honey and vinegar in the bottom of glass and stir well. Pour water over and continue to stir until all is mixed. Then you can add ice if you like. It's a bit like a lemonade, and VERY refreshing. Cheers!
I got laid off from my job last Friday, which can explain a few things about my cooking:
1.) I've been using powdered garlic
2.) I've been really working the leftovers
3.) I don't care how long it takes to cook a meal.
Somehow yesterday, in the midst of running out to see my best friend (who's in town from Chicago) and her beautiful son, buying groceries, and attempting to keep the kids out of trouble, I got inspired. With leftovers, no less.
And once again, I couldn't find a recipe online (not that I would follow it anyway) for what I wanted.
What I wanted, was to recycle my watermelon salad and make a watermelon glazed chicken. And I wanted cumin lime potatoes and fresh corn and minted peas. I don't know why I wanted these things. I just did. And so I made them.
I did, however, rinse the feta and basil out of the watermelon.
Watermelon Glazed Chicken
For the glaze:
2 cups fresh watermelon juice
1 tbsp. lemon zest
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup tamari sauce
For the dry rub:
1 tbsp. fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cumin
The chicken:
1/4 cup watermelon chunks
1 boiled lime
1 whole chicken
Preheat oven to 375. Wash chicken and pat dry. In a small bowl, mix together the dry rub ingredients. Rub all over chicken, outside and in and under the skin. Place in a large roasting dish. In a small saucepan, bring sauce ingredients to a boil and then reduce to simmer. Baste chicken with a small amount. Cut your boiled lime in half and place it and the watermelon chunks inside the chicken cavity. Place chicken in the oven and cook for 1 hour 15 minutes or until cooked through. Use a meat thermometer to check this chicken, as the watermelon glaze is rather red and makes it difficult to determine using the juices. Baste the chicken periodically with the sauce, being careful not to cross contaminate. Serve chicken cut with sauce spooned over.
Cumin-Lime Roasted Potatoes Ingredients:
zest of one lime
3 russet potatoes
1 tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. oregano
Juice from 1 lime
1/4 cup of olive oil.
Wash your potatoes thoroughly and cut into small pieces. In a small bowl, mix together all other ingredients. Toss the potatoes in the seasoning and place in small oven-safe pan. Roast for about 45 minutes. Lightly salt before serving.
I also served fresh corn on the cob and minted peas. I still have not perfected my minted peas, but the dinner was fantastic. Even if I served it rather late. Don't start thawing out a whole chicken at 2 and expect it to be ready for dinnertime. It won't be.
I cook a lot of one pot or one pan meals, which results in a lot of leftovers. Quite frankly, with the economy and my budget being what they are, I see no reason why or how we can get away with wasting food. I do a couple of things with these. I package them up and label them and freeze them, which are great lunches for work and great dinners when noone wants to cook. We also have leftover nights.
Part of the problem with cooking creatively a lot is that we get bored easily. Bored as in, if I don't freeze leftovers and I put them in the fridge expecting them to disappear, it ain't happening. Because we all want something new. So my husband and I try to re-work things and make them appealing. We eat a lot of wraps (made with corn tortillas so they are gluten-free.)
Last night I had this wrap:
It had Chinese Shark, Kale & Chickpeas with Broth, salsa, and feta cheese on it. It was really good! (No I am not pregnant, just willing to try anything!)
After leftover night, my daughter and I tried our first Gluten-Free Cookie Mix. We made Chocolate Chip with the 365 (Whole Food's Store Brand) box mix. They were extremely easy, even to me who makes cookie slabs instead of individual cookies.
My kids loved them. My husband loved them. I thought they had a weird texture, extra grainy or something. Not weird enough to keep me from eating 3 or 4 though. My daughter said they were better than "regular" cookies, and loved them enough to dive into the bowl.
Carefully slice corn kernels from the cob and then use a spoon to remove any pulp that may be remaining. In a large pan, saute the onions, garlic, 1 tbsp. butter, the olive oil, the lemon zest, and black pepper, until onions and garlic start to look translucent. Add corn kernels. Stir a few times to mix seasoning, then add the water and sugar. Cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the sour cream and nutmeg, stirring briskly, and cook until sour cream dissolves into a sauce. Serve immediately by the bowlful. 
