Using Local Corn on CTV

August 5, 2010 at 9:29 am Leave a comment

Today, I’ll be making a simple but colourful salad on my regular spot on CTV’s Noon News. When local corn is in season, you may just want to cook it briefly, slather it with butter and sprinkle it with salt and butter. There are, however, other great tastes you can achieve with this summery vegetable. Add it to corn muffins for that extra crunch or make my Tarragon-Dressed Corn and Bean Salad, a recipe from my book Hungry for Comfort. It is part of a Farmers’ Market Menu I created after a successful Saturday morning trip to our local market where I found piles of fresh seasonal vegetables too good to pass by. I buy the corn itself from the Gillespie Farm on Highway 24, just south of Cambridge where corn couldn’t be fresher. They grow about 14 different kinds and always have at least 4 bins of various varieties from which to choose. Furthermore, they can tell you which variety is best for something like a salad. Wherever you buy corn, check that it is fresh by looking at the stem which should be moist and pale green, not dried and brown. Don’t be tempted to tear back the husks since that will dry out the corn. Keep it cool on the way home and cook it as soon as possible for best flavour whether you’re enjoying it off the cob or making my salad, found on my Recipe Page.