Really, REALLY Great Corn on the Cob

This is a simple but boomer of a recipe for corn on the cob. I learned to make it in while living in Northern California from a man who owned a taco shop.

 

6 ears of fresh corn, husked and silked.

1 stick of butter, melted. Make that real butter.

2-3 limes juiced

cilantro, chopped

 

Cook the corn in boiling salted water until done then drain it and stack it on a plate. Put the lime juice in the melted butter and give it a stir before dribbling it over the corn. Use all of it. Sprinkle freshly chopped cilantro over the whole plate of corn. The butter/lime juice will pool at the bottom of the plate so leave it where everyone can roll their corn in the delicious sauce again.  Yummy! You will so love this.

Jesse

Beet Pickles

Opening my crusty old recipe box I wonder who sifted flour into it. It's a grey metal file card box from some forgotten office. In a Virgo moment early in my cooking career I had the insane idea that each recipe would live it’s life neat and tidy filed under its alphabetic letter. But that idea took a karmic turn somewhere along the way. Today there are folded yellowing snippets of paper with writing going round the edges, recipes written on (yes, sigh) napkins and papers worn and torn with love.

This time of year I usually make some kind of pickle in homage to the pickle makers of my ancestry. I like pickles. Looking through the box I found Ma Jess’ recipe for “Syrup for peach, crab or sweet apple or pear” with this little quote written on the side:

“You have to go over Fool’s Hill and Monkey Valley before you settle down.” I love that. Ma Jess was the beloved stepmother of my grandmother.

There is her recipe for beet pickles.

Cook beets – save cooking water – peel beets and cut in desired size. Reheat in juice.
Beet juice ½
Vinegar ½
1 cup brown sugar to 2 qts juice
Add cloves if desired. (I put in a stick of cinnamon with 10 cloves)

There is a note on the back of her recipe that says: “This was Tess’ recipe. Vinegar is stronger than it used to be so you may need to check taste for you.”

I wish I knew the year she wrote out that recipe but I can guess it would have been around 1930. Ma Jess lived on the family farm in Northern Michigan.
Jesse

Raw

This has become my favorite raw recipe. A fresh bunch of kale, washed and dried.
Chop. Chop. Chop. Keep chopping. It’s the hardest part but worth it. You chop till it is very small pieces. Then chop some more. If you like cilantro chop up a bunch of that as well. Just as small as the kale and combine them. You can also use spinach or chard if you don’t have kale on hand or mix in half and half. But I recommend kale the first time. Mostly because you won’t believe you are eating raw kale by the time this is done.

Now have a flat-like bowl and add some olive oil, a fairly good amount. Then some fresh lemon juice, pressed garlic and salt. Mix all these together and then add your chopped - more than you can imagine - kale (and cilantro if you like it.)

Massage. Yes, you heard me right, massage the kale into the olive oil mixture. It’s a bit messy for the hands but great for the kale. It helps to soften and break it down and make it very digestible. And very delicious.

You can’t imagine this till you try it. I promise you won’t believe you are eating raw kale.

1 bunch kale
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp. celtic salt

opt. 1/2 bunch cilantro

I never measure and most definitely use much more olive oil garlic and salt. Adjust all the above to your own taste.


This really is amazing, one of my favorite summer side dishes and so healthy.
Try it, I promise it is worth all the chopping.

Mary

Raw

Raw

This has become my favorite raw recipe. A fresh bunch of kale, washed and dried. Chop. Chop. Chop. Keep chopping. It’s the hardest part but worth it. You chop till it is very small pieces. Then chop some more. If you like cilantro chop up a bunch of that as well. Just as small as the kale and combine them. You can also use spinach or chard if you don’t have kale on hand or mix in half and half. But I recommend kale the first time. Mostly because you won’t believe you are eating raw kale by the time this is done.

Now have a flat-like bowl and add some olive oil, a fairly good amount. Then some fresh lemon juice, pressed garlic and salt. Mix all these together and then add your chopped - more than you can imagine - kale (and cilantro if you like it.)

Massage. Yes, you heard me right, massage the kale into the olive oil mixture. It’s a bit messy for the hands but great for the kale. It helps to soften and break it down and make it very digestible. And very delicious.

You can’t imagine this till you try it. I promise you won’t believe you are eating raw kale.

1 bunch kale
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp. celtic salt

opt. 1/2 bunch cilantro

I never measure and most definitely use much more olive oil garlic and salt. Adjust all the above to your own taste.


This really is amazing, one of my favorite summer side dishes and so healthy.
Try it, I promise it is worth all the chopping.

Mary

Dad's Breakfast

Grandparents! This recipe is for you!  

This comes from my dad. It makes breakfast a treat to look forward to especially for children.

Dad used to love to go into a restaurant for breakfast and order oatmeal with two large scoops of vanilla ice cream. Of course the waitress would exclaim that she’d never heard of such a thing. 

With a silly grin Dad would say, “Well maybe you should try it."  

The oatmeal would arrive with the ice cream melting down the sides of the bowl into white pools of sweetness. Dad would dig in while the waitress and the cook would peek out from the kitchen to watch him eat the most unusual breakfast they'd ever served up.

I say try it. Put two large scoops of ice cream on top of a piping hot bowl of oatmeal. 

There is one rule when you make this for your grandchildren: the smaller the child the bigger the scoops of ice cream. 

Jesse