Puttin’ Up Corn!

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We have had such a gorgeous summer of rain, humidity, and beautiful days.  Along with that comes so many flowers that my daughter and I feel like we’ve been working around the clock to keep them harvested, the flower stand stocked, as well as the garden weeded and mowed.  We’ve been harvesting sunflowers that are 8 feet tall and our shoulders are just killing us!  BUT… that’s not what this blog post is about this month.  It’s about CORN!

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My husband and I never have much luck getting our corn from seed to harvest.  We have a terrible raccoon problem and they beat us to the corn every single year.  This year we were determined to win the war over the raccoons.  But guess what?  The cows took care of that when they got in the garden and wiped out the corn!  So this week we drove an hour and a half down the road to an Amish community and we bought 14 dozen ears of wonderful sweet corn.  It was much easier than fighting with raccoons and cows!  (wink wink!)  Plus it was a beautiful drive and is always fun to visit the Amish.  (My favorite thing are the little children!)

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When we got home we called our little grand-girls to come up and help and we all got busy on the back porch.  I love canning on the porch.  I’ve talked about that quite a bit so most of you are aware that I do all my canning on the porch.  And this day was just a little cool with a breeze and it made it so much fun to be outside.

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My husband Eldon did all the shucking.

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Rosetta did all the washing in her ice chest sink!  It works great for a sink, by the way!

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Jillian was my right hand girl.  Her momma has raised her girls helping her cook and this little girl is so comfortable with a knife, I don’t have to worry one bit.  She cut the corn off of about 8 dozen ears of corn!

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Have your seen this trick of using a cake bundt pan for holding the corn while you cut all the kernels off?  It works amazing.

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I blanched the corn for about 8 minutes in boiling water.  Blanching helps to hold in the nutrients and allows the corn to stay fresher for longer.

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Then a few minutes in ice water to do a fast cool down.

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About half the corn we cut off the cob and the other half we left on the cob.  I like to freeze some of them whole, and some of them cut into small ears for things like Low Country Boil!

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Jillian also wrote the dates on all the bags for the kernels.

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This girl never left my side!  Even when Eldon and Rosetta were finished with their part of the job and went on to other things, she stayed right with me.

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I use a vacuum pack system for freezing the cobs.  It keeps them from getting freezer burn and they last in the freezer so much longer.

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And into the freezer went 14 dozen ears of corn.  Honestly, it was such a fast process with all of us working together!  In an email from MaryJane this week she mentioned making pickles with her grand-girls and said they were calling it “Kids Canning Camp… Pickle Camp… Cucumber Camp”!!  So we were calling it “Corn Camp” yesterday! I do love it when little kids have been taught to work and love doing it.  It was a joy to have their help.

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Now… the best part of the day was supper!  For some reason all I could think of was corn and potato chowder the whole day.  I would love to have you for supper but since I can’t, the next best thing is my recipe!  I hope you’ll make it and enjoy it!

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I’d love to hear what you’ve been canning.  Or freezing.  Or putting up.  (What do YOU call it when you preserve your harvest?)

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Until our gravel roads cross again… so long.

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Dori

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P.S.  Printable Corn Chowder Recipe below!

[recipe title=”Potato Corn Chowder” servings=”6 to 8″ time=”30 mins” difficulty=”easy”]

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
1/4 pound bacon, diced
1 cup chopped onion
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups peeled, and diced potato
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

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Place the butter into a cast iron skillet and melt over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook till crisp. Spoon out the bacon and drain on a paper towel. Set aside.

Keep 1/3 cup of the bacon grease and throw out the rest. Return the reserved bacon grease to the skillet and toss in the onions, seasoning them with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until soft and then add the garlic, cooking for 1 minute more. Sprinkle on the flour and mix into the onion. Add the corn, stir well into the onion mixture. Turn off the burner and set aside.

In a large soup pot, pour in the broth and potatoes. Cover the pot and bring to a boil; then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Add the corn and onion mixture. Cover and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Stir in the half-and-half. Season with the thyme and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Add the cooked bacon bits. Give it one last stir, and ladle it up into soup bowls. Serve immediately.

[/recipe]

  1. Maxine says:

    We froze green beans on Tuesday and sweet corn on Wednesday. I had my youngest -not so young daughter helping on both days. In fact she did nearly all the work by herself except the husking and then the bagging as I wanted her to learn the process.

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Hi Max!

      How much corn did you freeze? We had 14 dozen and it went really quickly with all of us helping…. I think I need another 14 dozen at least. But not sure we’ll have time to go get it. Your green beans looked really good on IG. I was wishing we had had a good green bean crop. Do you prefer freezing them over canning?

      Hugs,

      – Dori –

  2. Cyndie Gray says:

    Yum yum I am going to have to try that recipe!! What a fun day with your sweet grands

  3. Allen Smith says:

    Aw shucks!!! Wish I was there!!! 🙂

  4. Joan Hendrix says:

    Now that’s a beautiful freezer. Good job all!

  5. bonnie ellis says:

    Fresh corn is so good. I’m going to try the recipe, it looks delicious. You’re so lucky to have your grand-girls close to help. I enjoy your posts!

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Hi Bonnie!

      Can’t wait to hear if you love the chowder!

      Oh my goodness… having my grand girls nearby is such a miracle for me.

      – Dori –

  6. Dorothy Sparks says:

    Some of my fondest memories are putting up corn and green beans with my Mom, Grandmother & Aunts. I am so thankful for those lessons learned. My granddaughter will be letting me help her with her green beans this year. We have contests on who can snap to most. I know your grands will have wonderful memories of these days later.

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Hi Dorothy,

      Oh such wonderful memories. I hope my grand girls have memories like yours when they are older. It is my hearts desire… one of the reasons I love teaching them things like canning and sewing.

      And how special that now you have time with your grown granddaughter snapping beans. SO awesome.

      – Dori –

  7. Marilyn says:

    Thank you for the recipe. I an sympathize with you concerning he raccoons and cows. We have problems with squirrels, they rip up our bulbs and eat them. It is so frustrating to plant the flower bulbs and only to have them chewed up and destroyed. You are so right concerning The Amish. They are such wonderful people. Your granddaughters are beautiful. They are getting so big,quite the young ladies. thank you for sharing this post.
    Marilyn

  8. Krista says:

    My garden is very small and produces enough for my family, but not enough to save any. This year we planted zucchini and I have had quite a few zucchini already, but we have used them up in recipes. I’m thinking the next few I get I will freeze to save for winter. One day we will have a place where we can grow more. When that time comes I will save more food. Thanks for the recipe it sounds delicious. This will be a must try for our family!

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Hi Krista!

      Sometimes it’s nice to have a small garden that produces just what you need. You don’t get overwhelmed with tons of produce that way. I froze some zucchini this summer too. How do you freeze yours? I just grated mine and froze it in freezer bags. I can use it in muffins and loafs that way.

      Don’t forget to make the chowder and let me know!

      – Dori –

      • Krista says:

        In the past I have sliced or blended them and froze them. The sliced I use for side dishes and meals, where I use the blended ones for bread and cooking. I’m not sure yet how I want to save them this year. Maybe I will try grating them.

  9. maureen bruner says:

    Awesome tip about the bundt cake pan! We’ve made pickles, salsa, and rhubarb jam. (I have a rhubarb plant that just keeps on giving.) Can’t wait to try your Chowder…..YUM!

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Hi Maureen,

      Using that bundt pan for the corn is nothing short of amazing! Saves on clean up too. Oh how I wish I could grow rhubarb here. I so totally love it. Rhubarb pie, rhubarb jam…. oh yummy.

      – Dori –

  10. Jutta says:

    I’ve been freezing raspberries and strawberries from the garden we planted last year. Deer are a real problem for us so we put a high fence all around but left the gate off the ground a foot. I’ve been watching the grapes ripen looking forward to them any time now. Then last week we picked up some chickens, well they made short work of the grapes even though most were hard and green. So next we’ll be dropping our gate so those girls (chickens) will have to share. 🙂 Our friends down the road run a corn farm but the season is only now beginning for us up here. You’ve given me some good ideas that I can use when it’s our turn to put up the corn. Also thanks for sharing such a yummy looking recipe.

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Jutta,

      Raspberries and strawberries in the freezer are so good through the winter aren’t they? My grand girls picked wild blackberries around the farm and we froze a gallon of those. What do you do with your grapes? Do you can them?

      – Dori –

  11. Donna Kozak says:

    How wonderful to do all this all outside ! Just finished making apricot jam in my hot kitchen but now will treat myself to a nice cool swim in my pool – would love to have that soup for dinner but too tired and hot today !

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Hi Donna,

      Canning outside is just a dream compared to in the house. The best thing about it being able to clean up the mess with the garden hose! Ha Ha!

      A cool swim in the pool sounds wonderful!

      – Dori –

  12. Beth says:

    I pressure can anything possible, to save on freezer space. Your corn on the cob is beautiful! Thanks for the recipe, I’ll be trying that as soon as the weather cools.

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Beth,

      I pressure can things too, but I’ve never canned corn. How does that come out? I’ll have to try it sometime I guess. We have a couple big freezers because we harvest our own meat, so I usually have room for corn!

      – Dori –

  13. Gloria Smith says:

    Thanks for sharing your day with us. I always enjoy reading about your adventures!. Just yesterday my husband and I were discussing the best way to preserve corn for the winter. A local farmer has been selling wonderful corn the past couple of weeks and I hate for it to end. We do not have a vacuum seal system. I guess we’ll have to get one!

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Gloria,

      You can freeze the corn in gallon size ziplock freezer bags. It will work just fine. They don’t last as long in the freezer; but they would last through the winter.

      – Dori –

  14. Sandi King says:

    Dori, I have never tried chowder of any kind, but as I read your recipe through, it made me think I may try yours. It sounds and looks so delicious. I am only afraid the corn will hurt me as I have diverticulitis according to my doctor. I didn’t know I had it but I would get a pain in my side when I ate certain things. But I am sure my family and friends would love it so I may fix it anyway and try a small amount. As for canning and freezing, I haven’t been able to do those for myself, but I helped a friend of mine do hers. She canned pickles (lots of cucumbers in her garden), and green beans. I was hoping she would can some tomato juice with all her tomatoes and maybe I can talk her into it before they are all gone. We also love fried green tomatoes and will make some soon.
    I love your freezer (I want an upright) and I have a small chest type that I always have to dig through or empty to find what I am looking for. We do have a vacuum sealer though. I love your blogs and MaryJane’s Farm magazine and read it from cover to cover whenever I get one in the mail. I think you and the other bloggers are wonderful for sharing your stories and you family lives with the rest of us. Until the next time.

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Hi Sandi,

      An upright freezer is the only way to go in my book. I do have a small chest freezer too but the only thing I use it for is all the one pound ground beef packages from the beef that we harvest every year. It is so much easier to keep an upright organized. Super easy actually.

      Thanks for always reading and commenting!

      – Dori –

  15. Marlene Capelle says:

    We stopped and got fresh corn on the cob on the way to our cabin this weekend. Your recipe for chowder looks like a perfect thing to have tonight. Thanks.

  16. Joan says:

    Dori, you never cease to amaze me. Being reared by my grandparents and aunt, on the farm that my grandparents moved to in 1910 and raised 9of their own children and counting me 5 others. Yes we all learned by them and enjoyed it. Seeing your grand girls with you brings tears to my eyes remembering my experience, thank you for doing this and all the other projects you teach them. It’s just my sister and I now, so our ‘putt’ up’ is much less, we froze 4 more quarts of corn today, total of 12 for the summer. Thanks for sharing, really does this old gals heart good. God bless.

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Hi Joan,

      Thank you for writing. I never had much opportunity to learn from my grandparents as they didn’t live that close to us; so it is important to me to have as much time with my grand-girls as I can. I’m so thankful that we have the opportunity to be close to them… both physically and emotionally!

      How nice your and your sister have each other and can put corn up together.

      – Dori –

  17. Gail says:

    I plant squash & pumpkins with my corn. (Around the perimeter of my garden.)No more coons. They do not like the pickie vines.

  18. Nicole Christensen says:

    Hi Dori, (I love your covered porch, by the way). I could almost taste that sweet corn! What I love best about this post is the memories you are making with your grand girls. So sweet. Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole (Suburban Farmgirl)

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Hi Nicole,

      Thank you so much. I do hope that there will be amazing memories for my grand-girls. They mean the world to me.

      Hugs to you dear friend,

      – Dori –

  19. elaine says:

    We call it “doing corn”!! I need to do corn this summer because my supply from 2 years ago is all gone! I love fresh frozen corn to serve for company meals. Corn of this quality and flavor cannot be purchased! Soooo Good!

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Hi Elaine,

      Oh I love that… “doing corn”!!!

      And yes, it sure doesn’t taste like this from the grocery store!

      – Dori –

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