Recipe: Corn Relish

Corn relish is a sweet summer treat that captures the fresh taste of some of August's best offerings like corn, sweet peppers, tomatoes and sweet onions. Use it on anything that comes off the barbeque like burgers, hot dogs, steaks and grilled chicken. You can also toss a spoonful of corn relish into a simple chef's salad to liven it up a bit or mix it with rice and beans for added flavor. It's about as versatile a condiment as it gets. It will last for weeks in the fridge (if you don't devour it first), but you can also preserve it via the hot water canning method and enjoy opening up a jar of summer freshness in the deepest, darkest months of winter.

Ingredients (makes about three 500 mL jars):
- 6 ears of corn
- 1 1/2 cups white or apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 sweet bell pepper
- 1 tomato
- 1/2 sweet onion
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- 11/2 tsp mustard powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin

Steps:
1) Bring a pot of water to boil and cook corn for 3 minutes. Drop the corn in large bowl of cold water after removing from heat.

2) When the corn is cool enough to handle, cut the kernels off the cob. Any small, sharp knife will do the trick, but my favorite tool for this job is a corn zipper.

3) Dice tomatoes and place in a strainer over a bowl or in the sink. Sprinkle very lightly with salt to pull the water out of the tomatoes and let drain at least 10 minutes.

4) Dice peppers and onions.

5) Add vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard powder and cumin to a large pot and bring to a boil. Add corn, peppers, onions and tomatoes and simmer gently for 5 minutes.

6) Spoon corn relish into jars and make sure the veggies at the top are covered with a thin layer of liquid. There will likely be a bit of leftover liquid in the pot when you're done and you can discard this. Refrigerate relish and serve cold. Will last several weeks in the fridge.

7) For hot water bath canning pack corn relish into hot 250 mL or 500 mL canning jars and process fully submerged in water at a rolling boil for 15 minutes. Remove and allow jars to cool before storing on a shelf at room temperature. Check that the lids have fully sealed once cool. Refrigerate after opening.

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Summertime

Summer is officially here and so is the heat! The garden is soaking up the sunlight on these ultra-long days and growing fast.

In Fields 2 and 3 are potatoes, garlic, onions and various cover crops. Nearby are the two greenhouses. The old greenhouse in front is home to the tomatoes and the new greenhouse behind is still where seedlings mature before moving out to the field as transplants.

Through the roll-up sides of the old greenhouse (put up in the daytime for ventilation and put down at night for warmth) you can see the tomatoes are getting tall.

Inside view of the tomatoes growing up the string trellises.

Tomatoes!

In Field 1 are the peas, broccoli, eggplant, radishes, lettuce, spinach, bok choy, kohlrabi, beans, turnips, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, corn, carrots and beets. Most of the mid-late summer veggies are still small but growing by leaps and bounds every day.

Lettuce is one of the first late spring veggies to appear and we've been eating it for the past couple of weeks. It's so exciting to start digging into fresh garden produce after a long winter of root cellar veggies, preserves and pickles and the few things we buy at the grocery store. I'm never disappointed at the amazing taste of the food our land gives us.

Veggies aren't the only thing growing at the farm this season. Baby #3 is due to arrive in two months with all my late summer favorites like corn, peppers and zucchini.

The kids have started their own little garden in the front near the house. They check daily on the progress of the cherry tomatoes, beans, peppers, cucumbers, peas, carrots and lettuce. There's also a small corn plot nearby.

Stay cool during these sweltering days! Visit our CSA page for info on our local pick-up options.

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Hello Corn!

We are just past the mid-point of summer and that marks the start of corn season. Tall, tassel-headed corn is all around us, both in our garden and in the countless cornfields nearby that we drive past daily.

A ubiquitous August sight in rural Southern Ontario.

Unfortunately, the raccoons and crows have also noticed our corn so it's been a bit of battle. Eric wrapped an extra row of electric fencing around the corn to keep out the ground assault, and today he and Rose built a scarecrow to fend off the airborne pests.

Scarecrow outfitted by Winners, Modcloth and Old Navy. In other words, I own the lion's share of clothes in the relationship (plus Eric wears his clothes to shreds). — Scarecrow outfitted by Winners, Modcloth and Old Navy. In other words, I own the lion's share of clothes in the relationship (plus Eric wears his clothes to shreds).

We had our very first taste of this year's corn at dinner last night with some of the runts and oddly shaped ears that won't make it into the boxes. The kids are expert huskers, which is great because I hate husking. Get to your Husking Station, girls!

At the Husking Station (our back step) with a bucket for the husks and two bowls for the corn (before and after).

Look for corn to make it into the boxes in the next two weeks. How long it lasts depends on how successful we are in fighting off the hungry pests!

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Recipe: Corn Summer Salad

The classic way to enjoy the abundance of corn this time of year is on the cob with butter and salt, and I'm definitely a fan of the classics. However, I love the way this recipe combines the other flavours of summer into one amazing, height-of-the-season salad. The goat cheese blends with the oil and vinegar and the water from the tomatoes to make a lightly creamy dressing.

If you have the time, you can sprinkle the chopped tomatoes with some salt and let them rest in a colander in the sink for 10-15 minutes before adding them into the salad. The excess water will be pulled out by the salt and drain away, preventing the dressing from becoming too liquidy.

Ingredients:

- 4 ears of corn
- 4-6 tomatoes, chopped and drained (if desired)
- large handful of basil
- 150 g of goat cheese, crumbled
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1. Shell corn. I've tried a few different tools for this and so far my favorite is a corn zipper. Google it!

2 Bring a small pot of water to boil and dump corn into the pot. Let simmer for 1-2 minutes.

3. Drain corn in a colander and rinse under cold water until cool to touch.

4. Combine all ingredients into a large bowl. Drizzle oil and vinegar and add salt and pepper as desired. Mix thoroughly and serve.

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Eva Mae Farm