Freezing Sweet Corn

The other day we picked some of our sweet corn and we blanched it and put up a couple of gallon bags of sweet corn on the cob.  You might recall, we made a delicious summer garden pesto pizza with sweet corn and tomatoes.  We also ate some corn on the cob for supper with melted butter on top.  Today, we'll show you how we freeze sweet corn in quart bags.  But first you have to pick it...

Fresh picked

This particular variety is an heirloom seed corn called Stowell's Evergreen Sweet corn, so it is not the vibrant yellow color as the other variety we plant, but it is delicious.  We take the husks and silk off and cut off any spots that have pest damage.

Shucked ear of sweet corn

Then we blanch the corn on the cob by dropping them in a pot of boiling water for between 7-9 minutes, depending on the size of the ears.  Once the time is up, we remove them from the boiling water and immediately dunk them in a sink full of ice water to stop the cooking process.  We'll leave them to cool for about 10 minutes and then drain the water, allowing the corn to dry.

Then with a sharp knife, we cut the corn off the cob.  It will come off in big 'panels'...

Cutting it off the cob

but they break into individual kernels once you scrape them off the cutting board and into the bowl. We make sure we get every last bit of corn off the cob as we don't want to waste any of that flavor to the cob that will be going into the compost pile.

8 cups of sweet corn cut off the cob

Here is the money shot, showing the delicious, milky sweet corn.  It would make a fine meal right here if you had a spoon handy, but we'll save it for another day.  I'm thinking that a corn macque choux would be tasty.  

Fresh sweet corn Zoomed in

For now, we scoop the corn out into quart freezer bags, squeezing the air out of the bags and laying them flat in the freezer where they take up little space.  If you don't have much freezer space, this is the optimal way to freeze it as opposed to freezing it on the cob.  We do, however, freeze some on the cob because the cob provides some extra good flavor when boiled in soups.

Two bags about to go into the freezer

Soon we'll make corn macque choux and invite you over to eat with us!

Making Dill Pickles

Our cucumber crop has been possibly the best crop in ten years.  Each day I go out and pick a bucketful.  My favorite way to eat them is to slice them up, splash a little vinegar and oil on top of them and then sprinkle some salt and pepper on them. They are cool and refreshing.  That's the way that we eat most of them.  We also use some to make tzatziki.  We also like pickles a lot, so today we're going to weigh out 3 pounds of some organic pickling cucumbers picked at the peak of crispness to make some dill pickles.

Fresh Picked!

There are many recipes out there.  I guess the easiest one is the one on the box of Morton Kosher salt. Morton actually has a salt mine not far from where we live.  It is at Weeks Island in Iberia Parish. The recipe calls for:

3 pounds pickling cucumbers
3/4 cup Morton® Coarse Kosher Salt
2 quarts water
3 cups distilled white vinegar
5 cups water
12 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons whole mixed pickling spice
6 sprigs of fresh dill
6 small hot peppers

Ingredients

Wash up the cucumbers.  Ours really don't take any scrubbing.  They were pretty clean and the rain had them washed nicely.  Cut them up into 3/4 inch slices.

Sliced

Dissolve all the salt in 2 quarts water and pour over the sliced cucumbers and let them sit for 24 hours, covered.

Soaking for 24 hours

After 24 hours has passed, drain the salt water from the bowl of cucumbers. Combine the vinegar and 5 cups water into a pot and add pickling spice and garlic. Bring it all to a boil.

Boiling vinegar/water/spices/garlic

While you are waiting on the water to boil, sterilize your jars, lids, rings and gaskets.  We use Tattler brand reusable lids/gaskets.  Pack your jars with the sliced cucumbers, and add a jalapeno pepper and a sprig of dill to each jar.

Packing the jars

Using a canning funnel, we pour the hot liquid into the jars, bringing the level of the liquid to within 1/2 inch of the top.  We pour the liquid through a strainer that is placed in the funnel.  The directions avoid this step as it calls for the garlic and pickling spices to be boiled in a cheesecloth bag.

Filling the jars

Once filled we put gaskets and lids on jars and tighten the rings/Tattler lids "finger-tight".  We place them in a water bath canner ensuring that the jars are covered with water by 2 inches.  The water is brought to a boil and once it is boiling, we start the timer for ten minutes

Processing the jars

When the buzzer goes off, we pull them out and place on a cooling rack and, according to Tattler directions, we further tighten down on the lids "hand tight."

Lettin' 'em cool

We allow them to cool and once we see the lids are sucked down ensuring a good seal, we remove the rings.  We test the seal be lifting the jar by the lid.  If the lid comes off, the pickles go in the fridge for eating soon.  If we can lift the jar by the lid and it doesn't pop off, we move them to the pantry.  We made 2 batches - one batch of 5 jars and the other with 6 jars.  We'll likely make several more batches to build up our "stash."

Clarabelle After 6 Days - An Update

I wanted to give an update on little Clarabelle, our Jersey heifer born last Saturday a little after noon. She's been quite a challenge.  For whatever reason, she was slow to stand up.  After about 6 hours she finally stood up on wobbly legs.  Problem solved? Well, she still needed to nurse to get Rosie's colostrum into her gut that gives her the antibodies she needs to fend off infection and disease.  And she wouldn't nurse.  It seemed as if she just didn't have the sucking reflex.  We worked and worked with her and were finally able to get her to get maybe a mouthful down.

Sunday morning we woke up and milked about a half gallon into a bottle and the little fart drank it from the bottle.  Progress!  We'll take it.  Same thing at noon and again Sunday evening. We then began to try to fool her now that she craved the milk and had the sucking reflex down.  We simply moved her closer to Rosie and after she finished the bottle and still wanted to suck, we quickly substituted Rosie's teat for the bottle and voila! She nursed from Rosie!

Here's what you are looking for, Clarabelle

Except for one small problem.  She would never initiate the nursing on her own. Tricia and I got up each morning at 5 and trudged out to the barn and repeated the process of helping her to find Rosie's teat and nurse in order to ensure that she would continue to grow stronger and not dehydrate in the hot weather we're having. She kept drinking, but only after we helped her find it.  I began to even wonder if she was blind, but we watched her and she clearly could see.

And then on Wednesday afternoon of this week, a full four days after she was born, something clicked and we observed Clarabelle rooting around Rosie, trying to find the milk spigot on her own - without our intervention!

A little further back, girl

Finally she found it and latched on.  There was rejoicing going on at our house. Clarabelle was going to make it.  Yesterday morning when we went to the barn, Clarabelle had already had her breakfast and had almost emptied both quarters on Rosie's right side.  She didn't want any more and that's okay. Dairy cows will produce more than their babies can drink.  We simply milk out Rosie of all of the milk that Clarabelle didn't want.  You might say we share the milk with her.

Latching on

Clarabelle will alternate between the rear teat and front teat and either empty them or drink until she's full.  At first, she was only drinking when we'd take Rosie in the barn in the mornings or evenings, but now we notice she's nursing off of her Momma whenever she's hungry out in the pasture.

Milk - It does a body good!

Now that we think that after 6 days she's finally gotten down what all our other calves have learned on day 2, we'll try to get into our normal routine that we normally work out with our calves in order to share milk with her.  We will leave Rosie and Clarabelle together all day, and then at around 6 pm, we'll separate them. We put the calf in a stall in the barn and allow Rosie to have a "Mother's Night Out." That allows her to produce milk for US from 6 pm until around 5:30 the next morning.  At that time, we'll milk Rosie out and then put her and Clarabelle back together.  Rosie will produce milk for Clarabelle between 6 am and 6 pm.  Our milk sharing is mutually beneficial to Clarabelle and our family and the demand for milk keeps Rosie's supply up.

Summary:  Clarabelle, after a shaky start, looks like she's gonna be fine.  Tricia saw her running in the pasture yesterday, kicking up her heels! Hallelujah! 

Making Homemade Pizza With the Freshest of Ingredients

We went out and picked the remaining row of corn, bringing the ears to the back patio where Benjamin and I shucked corn, throwing the husks and silk into an old molasses tub.  I learned HERE that a social gathering for husking corn is called a "husking bee."  We had a mighty fine husking bee - Benjamin and I.  He husked and removed the silk, and I cut around the pieces that had insect damage.  The work went quick.  We were motivated to get inside and enjoy our bounty and it was hot and humid outside.

Taking off the cornhusks

This particular heirloom variety isn't quite as yellow as the Golden Bantam variety we harvested the other day.  This variety is called Stowell's Evergreen Sweet Corn and it has a pale yellow tint to it - almost white.

Stowell's Evergreen Sweet Corn

We filled a cake container cover with fresh corn.  It was not a bumper crop.  It wasn't the best crop we've ever planted, but it wasn't the worst either.  We had lots of damage, but we've learned to be thankful and appreciative for what we get.

Fresh shucked Corn

While the husking bee was semi-laborious, we were energized for the finish line was in sight.  We decided to make one of our favorite things with fresh tomatoes, basil, and just-picked sweet corn - Homemade Pizza!

Tricia sliced several nice homegrown tomatoes, made up some pizza dough and proofed it.

Proofed pizza dough with tomatoes in the staging area

All summer long we make up numerous batches of basil pesto and freeze it in individual servings. We love the stuff although we've learned to check our teeth after eating it.  Pesto has a tendency to get in your teeth and cause you all sorts of embarrassment if you go out in public with a big green, goofy smile!  We thawed out a container and spooned the pesto on the pizza dough similar to what you'd do with tomato sauce on a normal pizza, spreading it out evenly.  

Spreading the pesto base on the pizza

We took some Golden Bantam sweet corn and cut the kernels off the cobs.  We'll compost the cobs this time, but we also make corn cob broth that goes great in soups.

Taking Golden Bantam corn off the cobs

Then we sprinkle the corn on top of the pizza, adding another layer of garden goodness to the pie.

Next we grated some cheddar cheese atop the pie.  The recipe calls for Parmesan and Mozzarella. Unfortunately, we were out, so we "made do" with what we had. Then we adorned the growing pie with colorful homegrown tomatoes picked at their zenith.  (We don't use the word zenith in casual conversation much, do we? Maybe we should change that.)

The pizza pie is coming together

I jumped the gun on the next step and added some fresh basil to the top prior to putting it in the oven. As you'll note in the photo following, the leaves dried up.  I learned my lesson, though, and on the second pizza, I added the basil right when the pizza came out of the oven.  Oh, one more thing, I also cut up some fresh jalapenos for a little more flavor explosion.

Oh yeah!

We placed the pizzas in an oven at 450 degrees and cooked until the crust was golden brown - about 14 minutes.  We pulled it out and it was perfectly cooked!

Lovin' from the Oven

We demolished the pizza!  Fresh ingredients make all the difference in the world.

A little slice of heaven!

That's the fun thing about pizza.  They're so versatile.  You can add whatever is in season to the top of them.  Any ingredient is fair game, too.  I just read about a new idea for our next pizza: cutting up boudin and sprinkling "cracklin crumbs" to the top for extra flavor and spice.

From Red Corn Silk to Cold Raw Milk

Just the other day the sweet corn in our corn patch had beautiful candy apple red silk billowing out of the ears.  It made for a stark contrast against the green stalks and leaves.  The red of the silk let me know that they aren't quite ready yet.

Female (ear shoot)

The tassel at the top of the corn stalk is the male structure, while the ear is the female structure.  The tassel will shed pollen.  Conditions have to be just right for this to take place - it can't be too wet or too dry and it generally occurs in the morning hours.  The anthers on the tassel open and drops pollen and the silk catches it with sticky hairs on the silk.  Pollen is very light and can travel up to 50 feet, pollinating other cornstalks as it drifts by.  When each strand of silk is pollinated, it will form a kernel of corn within the ear.

Male (tassel)

You know that the sweet corn is ready for picking when the silk has turned a dark brown color.  It sort of dries up and the beautiful red color fades into a dull dark brown shade.  

Ready to pick.  Go grab a bucket

You could start picking them all at this point or you could check one just to be sure. I have a little tradition that I started doing a couple of years ago that I really enjoy. Standing out in the corn patch, I pick the first ear of the season, pull the husk back to shuck the corn, and then I pull all the silk out of the way.  Then, while I'm standing there, I'll devour the sweet corn raw, fresh as you can get. It is sweet and delicious and I think about how quickly time passes since we planted it.  In early April THIS was how it looked, and now...

A bucket full of ears of sweet corn

Sweet corn doesn't have the adjective 'sweet' attached to it for no reason.  I've found that ants are attracted to it and not only do they bite you while you are picking the corn, but they cause damage to the ears, eating the kernels and leaving a sticky brownish substance behind.  In researching this, there seems to be disagreement regarding whether or not ants will eat corn.  Some say that the ants are "farming" aphids and that aphids are the real problem, but I don't have aphids.  I do, however, have fire ants and those boogers like sweet corn almost as much as I do.

Children of the Corn

So we picked a few ears, brought them inside and shucked them, feeding the stalks to the cows who devoured them in short order.  We cut off pieces of the corn that had damage from insects.  Believe it or not there was not a single worm on the corn. We had a couple dozen ears done in no time flat. This particular heirloom variety is called Golden Bantaam Sweet Corn.

Prepping the corn

And now it is time to eat.  There's nothing like eating local - especially when local is right outside the back door.  Our meal consisted of a Louisiana staple - Rice and Gravy.  My wife always teases me about how we highlight the rice & gravy, leaving the meat out of the description.  In this case the meat was from shoulder steak from our grass-fed steer.  Moving counterclockwise up the plate from the rice & gravy, we have a fresh picked picked ear of sweet corn, fermented ginger carrots, new potatoes and green beans, and a big, thick slice of Heirloom Black Krim tomato.  I don't want to leave out the glass of Daisy's milk at the 11 o'clock position in the photo below.  It is almost as sweet as the corn. 

A satisfying home-cooked meal

I've said it a hundred times.  It is a great feeling to consume good food that you produce right there on your land - Makes me and my taste buds very happy.  Once we thank God for providing our food for us, the feast commences.  And soon... 

Scraping the Plate

There's nothing left.  It's all gone.  From the seed to the silk to the raw cow's milk, country living is the good life!

The Doctor is IN!

Here she is - our very own June Cleaver of the barnyard, matriarch of the mud and muck, in her frilly apron and all returning from a house call at the barn.  Tricia, further honing her prowess as an aspiring veterinarian, figured out a problem that has been plaguing one of our Jersey cows, Daisy, for the longest time.

Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman

When we milk Daisy, she stomps her back, left leg.  This has been going on for over a year now - maybe as many as 3 years, we can't say for sure.  We have her leg hobbled, but you still have to be careful that she doesn't knock over the milking bucket when she starts moving her leg so much. We finally realized why she was doing this - and it has nothing to do with Restless Leg Syndrome.

Daisy's armpit

If you look at the picture above, there is a flap of skin between her leg and udder. This would be similar to what you'd call an armpit in humans, so we'll just call it her armpit.  If you lift up the skin and expose her armpit, we noticed that she has a scab - or several small scabs right in the crease of her armpit.  We thought it was some sort of inflammation or skin irritation similar to a heat rash or chafing, so we began to apply a triple antibiotic cream to make it heal.  This treatment regimen was met with not much success. The photo below shows the affected area.  This was a little uncomfortable for Daisy and the discomfort was exacerbated during milking time.

Scabs

When the triple antibiotic cream didn't heal the irritation, Tricia theorized that maybe the scabs are caused by a small insect or parasite like lice.  Fortunately, we know as shown in THIS ARTICLE that insects can be controlled naturally by using diatomaceous earth (DE). We have some DE on hand that we use for controlling insects.  It is a proven natural insecticide.  You can learn more about it HERE.

DE is made of the fossilized remains of diatoms or algae, and the fine powder is very abrasive.  When insects crawl through it, DE makes tiny abrasions on their underbellies and the insects dehydrate and die.  As a result, it is widely used in commercial grain storage facilities.  It is a fine white powder and you have to be careful handling it as it can cause lung damage if you inhale it.

I can remember a gentleman who came to a Rice Grower's Meeting one time who was explaining the benefits of using DE in our rice storage bins to eradicate rice weevils.  At the end of his presentation, he gave us little samples of DE in Ziploc bags.  We were all a little concerned that if we got pulled over by law enforcement and they saw our Ziploc bag full of a white, powdery substance, we'd be taken to jail.

DE

Tricia has been applying DE by sprinkling under Daisy's 'armpits' and in a very short time, has seen remarkable improvement!  The good doctor's theory was correct and the scabs caused by the parasites are almost completely gone.

Applying DE to the affected site

Tricia also sprinkles some on Daisy's back to see if it has an effect on the biting flies that annoy the cows during summer.

DE on the back for insect control

It's always nice to solve a medical mystery and be able to treat it naturally.  Daisy is much obliged to her apron-wearing veterinarian. 

Welcoming Clarabelle to the Family!

It's a Girl!

Those are the three words you want to hear when your Dairy cow delivers her baby. We've been waiting on Rosie to calve and knew that her delivery date was quickly approaching.  We missed seeing the delivery Saturday, June 20th right after lunch, but Russ was out there right after she calved.  This is Rosie's fourth calf.  She's given us three heifers - Maggie, Amy, and this one.  And then one bull calf that was stillborn between Maggie and Amy.

We've decided to name her Clarabelle.  It sounds feminine and seems like a good name for a little heifer.  It didn't take long after Clarabelle was on the ground before Rosie's motherly instincts took over.

Clarabelle's first bath

Rosie gently began sniffing her calf and then began to lick her all over, cleaning her up and bonding with her baby.  It is a chance for Rosie to become familiar with her new charge and get to know the little one and commit to caring for and protecting her.

The hens gathered around to welcome the new addition to the barnyard.  Their curiosity was met with impatience by momma Rosie.  

Pretty soon Amy showed up and was introduced to her new little sister.  Lots of sniffing going on as they get to know one another.

"I'm Amy, your big sis"

Daisy, our other Jersey cow, showed up to greet the newborn and even Annie, the goat, came to give her good wishes, which is astonishing since the cows are so mean to Annie.  Annie thinks that GOAT stands for Greatest Of All Time.  The cows don't concur.

"I'm Annie, the goat"

The chickens are relentless and they'll gather around and start pecking at the newborn calf's hooves. The hooves of a newborn calf are soft and apparently the chickens think it is a good snack.  We try to get them away quickly, so as not to hurt her.  They pecked at her front hooves pretty good.

Russ built a temporary enclosure with some hog panels to segregate the meddling chickens from Clarabelle and Rosie and then brought some hay for her to lay in. Russ did a good job of fixing up the 'nursery.'

The nursery

Rosie wasn't finished yet, though.  Uterine contractions continue and the placenta is finally expelled. It's not a pretty sight, but is just a natural part of the birthing process.  

Delivering the placenta

In a very unappetizing event that is instinctual in cows, they will eat the placenta. It is widely thought that the cows do this to hide the evidence of calf-birth from predators.  Some think that it provides the cow nutrients, and others think that it is a good source of hormone uptake.  

Eating the Afterbirth

After numerous tries on long, wobbly legs, shaky Clarabelle is up on her back legs...

C'mon, you can do it.

And then she's finally is up on all four legs and then begins trying to find where the milk comes from. You're on the wrong end, Clarabelle!  The milk spigot is on the other end.

"Wrong end, little girl!"

Exhausted after a long, sweltering hot day, momma and baby sit down in the shade, accompanied by the ever-present hens to rest and collect their thoughts - whatever it is that bovines think about (or ruminate on).

"Let's rest.  It's been a long day."

She's a cute little heifer, that's for sure.  Next up is Daisy, who is due in October, followed by Amy, who will be having her first calf in December.  Lots of babies this year.

Clarabelle Sonnier

An update on Clarabelle:

"Why does it have to be so difficult?!"  That was the rhetorical question I called out to Tricia Saturday evening and several times on Sunday.  Clarabelle has been very difficult for us.  In the past, we've had calves that have taken a long time to stand up, and we've had calves that have taken a long time to suckle.  The trouble is, in order for antibodies to be passed from the mother to the baby, it is very important that the calf drinks the colostrum within 6 hours of delivery or for sure within 24 hours.  That colostrum provides antibodies that the calf needs to ward off infection and disease.  Each hour after birth, the calf's stomach changes and is less able to absorb the antibodies.

Many times we're quick to jump in there and take charge and forget that the Good Lord designed His creatures to give birth and raise their young without any human intervention.  I've even been impatient and pulled out a calf before that really didn't need pulling.  So now our first strategy is to just sit back and observe and get involved only if presented with a real problem.

Clarabelle was that problem child.  It took her about six hours to stand up and never would "latch on" to Rosie in order to get colostrum.  It was hot, she was a little weak and shaky, and after trying repeatedly, with no success, to make her suckle, we got out a bottle, milked Rosie's colostrum into the bottle and bottle fed Clarabelle. We don't want her getting dehydrated.  We were both soaking wet with sweat and exhausted when done.

She drank it and then we pulled the old 'bait and switch' to put her on Rosie's teat, but she just doesn't have a strong sucking reflex.  Sunday we bottle fed her three more times and actually was able to have some success getting her latched on Rosie's teat to suckle for a brief minute.  This morning she drank a half gallon and at noon Tricia gave her another half gallon.  She's making a little progress each time we work with her, and tonight we'll work with her some more, hoping to get her off the bottle and on her Momma - that's kind of the point of the whole thing!  You shouldn't have to bottle feed a calf when you've got a Momma cow full of milk.

Clarabelle is teaching us a thing or two about patience and hard work.  We'll keep at it and keep you posted.