Tips and Recipes
for Brookfield Farm Crops

  
   
 
 
Corn (Zea mays)

 It is usually accepted that maize was growing in Mesoamerica by between 8000 and 5000 B.C. Christopher Columbus first brought maize to Spain, and from there, the grain has traveled all over the world. Although the flavor and nutritional value of old maize varieties have been sacrificed in the search for sweetness, corn is a great source of complex carbohydrates.
 
 

 

Recipes:

Tomato Corn Chowder
3 scallions
1 tsp oregano and thyme
4 paste tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup flour
1 cup cream
2 cups fresh corn kernels
1/4 cup parsley

Fresh Brookfield sweet corn and paste tomatoes will make for an especially tasty soup!! Saute scallions with oregano and thyme over medium heat until browned. Add tomatoes, then 4 cups of water. Lower the heat and simmer 30 minutes covered. Mix flour and cream (watch for lumps!) and add to soup. Simmer and add corn kernels, pepper and parsley. Simmer 15 minutes uncovered and enjoy!

 

Here's a funny one. The main ingredient is a fungus particular to corn which has earned the dubious name of 'smut.' It can be used as you would any other mushroom-y fungus. This recipe was developed by our brave and imaginative shareholder/chef Barbara Hanson:

Smut Soup

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves minced garlic
2 minced jalapeno peppers
1 cup chopped smut
1 tsp. dry epazote
5-6 cup chicken broth
1 cup whole milk
salt and pepper to taste.

Saute first 5 ingredients until liquid has cooked off. Add broth and simmer for 15 minutes. Puree in food processor. Return to pot and add milk, salt & pepper. Heat and serve.

 

 

Storage Tips:

A few suggestions from shareholder Judy Demerath about freezing sweet corn: Don't boil it for two minutes--just drop it in boiling water and as soon as the water boils again, it is done! Also, she tells of a friend who has been freezing it without cooking it first for years and gets excellent results. Just cut it off the cob, place in freezer bags, and put it in the freezer.
Or, if you have a lot of space, just put the whole ear in--that works too, but takes up a lot of your freezer.