Dont be CORN fused

Feel a little bit like I am cramming for my Amish Homemaking final....and the Buckeyes and the Browns are not helping at all! Corn was a 'surprise' project. I had actually gone to the farmers market to buy more tomatoes, to finish the previous post. They were not quite as red or quite as beautiful as they were at the other spot...but this particular location was having a special on quantities of corn. The darling salesgirls knew a live one when they saw one (in church clothes). Did I want them to shuck the corn, too? Wow! The hardest part was now history, for the low, low price of 10 cents an ear, times 5 1/2 dozen ears.

So, with a(nother) false sense of kitchen confidence, I set the water to boiling and laid out the supplies. This is Lee's old kettle from the campground...it is big enough to hold all the Browns dropped passes. (But we're not bitter) I put in about a dozen ears at a time for just a minute or two, this is called 'blanching'. Using tongs, remove each ear and hold it over the kettle to drain, then lay the ears on an immaculately clean kitchen towel. By the time the last one came out, the first one had cooled enough to handle. I held them vertically, tip side down. Then I vertically cut several rows of kernels off at a time with a cheap steak knife, right onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Dont use your good knives here.....they will cut way too deeply into the cob. Cheaper knives work much better for this application.

After cutting the kernels from (about) four ears, I gathered up the edges of the parchment paper, just as you would a pastry bag, and gently shook them from the parchment paper into the ziploc bag. Then just squeeze out the air from the bottom up, and lay flat to cool.

You say 'tomatoes' we say 'Tomatoes'

Preserving tomatoes for making sauce is as much a part of our Italian culture as an 8x10 picture of the Pope hanging in the dining room. Growing tomatoes, harvesting and 'canning' is an annual ritual which most households participate in. You will see the whole process, start to finish, and you can learn as I am learning.


Different sauces call for the tomatoes to be preserved in various forms, for example 'salsina' vs. whole.

Viva l'Italia Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Andy (our youngest son) was headed back to the University of Cincinnati for his senior year, and I wanted him to start off with a full cookie jar. This is my spin on the classic chocolate chip cookie, but with the colors of the Italian flag. The flavor is really special with homemade vanilla, and real oats from the local farmer's market. Toasted pistachios add just the right crunch.

Viva l'Italia Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup pistachios, lightly toasted

Preheat your oven to 375*. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir in the oats.

Beat the softened butter and both sugars in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Turn mixer down to a lower speed, then add vanilla, and one egg at a time until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients that were sifted together into the mixing bowl, still running at low speed.

Fold in dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, and pistachios by hand.

Scoop or drop by spoonful onto prepared cookies sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until edges are just browned.

You can print the recipe by clicking on the title of the recipe or clicking here.