Corn on the Cob

It is late July in Southwestern Ontario, and that can only mean one thing....it's corn on the cob season! Why is there not more poetry dedicated to corn on the cob? It's at least as magnificent as daffodils, and a lot tastier, too.

We are lucky enough to be right smack in the middle of corn-growing country, which means that we are able to get just-picked-that-day corn on the cob on almost any store or road-side stand or market you happen to be passing. And corn on the cob is best when it is really, really fresh. Supposedly the First Nations people (that would be the new term for "Indians", for those of you who haven't got the memo) say you should pick the corn when the pot of water is already boiling, it should be that fresh. We aren't quite that enthusiastic, but manys the trip back from the beach at the end of the day where we stop at some little stand by the side of the road to get corn for dinner.

We had corn on the cob for dinner last night, (with some BBQ chicken and a Caesar salad) and it is about the only vegetable that the Loudshoes children actually ask for and eat willingly. You can cook corn all kinds of ways, and dress it up all fancy, but why bother? It's so good straight up...bring a pot of water to a boil (unsalted), chuck in all the shucked corn, put a lid on it, turn the pot off and let it sit for 7 to 10 minutes. When you take the corn out, slather lavishly with butter and salt and repeat; only stop when you are ready to topple off your chair.

The only thing I don't like about corn is the dedicated and protracted dental flossing programme required after eating it, (I wonder if the sale of dental floss takes a noticeable jump in the summer?) and the fact that the cobs take years to disintegrate int he composter. I swear the bottom two feet of our compost bin is made up entirely of corn cobs. (Maybe they should make the outside of the Space Shuttle out of used corn cobs and they dye they use in cherry Kool-Aid...those are both indestructible.)

While corn season is here, we will enjoy it to the fullest. I will just stock up on floss