Corn Season

Ah, mid-August.  It's the peak/possibly the downward slide toward the end of the local sweet corn season.  I've had some fabulous corn over the past week, after purchasing a dozen ears from family farmers who grow it on the banks of the Mississippi River in Wabasha, MN. (They make the trek to our local farmers market.)  It's sweet, and crisp, and just fantastic.  I made some terrific corn salsa, and roasted?  Delicious!

But I'm most excited about a harvest that is just starting to be ready.  This summer, I grew miniature popcorn, a variety called Tom Thumb, in giant decorative tubs along with rampant nasturtiums.  After growing all season, they've set tiny ears that are dried down and nearly ready to try popping.  A couple more weeks, and they should be ready.  I've got another type of popcorn growing in the community garden, a variety called Pennsylvania Dutch Buttered Popcorn, which has just started drying down.  And then there's my somewhat pathetic looking crop of Painted Mountain flour corn.  It's drying down, but fell over in a storm and I don't know what is actually going to come out of that bed.  It may become rabbit feed, instead of future tortillas.  Still, it's been a good summer for corn, no matter the variety!