Sweet corn

Several years ago I had a young neighbor, 5 years old at the time, who was given the job of calling her dad to the dinner table. She bound out of her house yelling to her father that it was time for dinner and then she shouted, 'we're having corn on the bone!" So whether you call it "corn on the cob" or "corn on the bone" it all taste the same and this summer the taste is great.

Here are some corn facts you may not already know:

1. one ear of corn measures about 3/4 cup

2. a serving size of corn is 1/2 cup

3. corn is America's number 1 field crop

4. in addition to being a good food source, corn is used to produce ethanol which is added to our gasoline. Ethanol reduces the amount of pollution our cars create, thus helping to save our environment.

Nutritional value of corn:

one serving of corn (1/2 cup) will provide you will 77 Kcal, 1 g of fat, 3 g of protein, 2 g of fiber, 243mg vitamin A and 253 mg potassium.

Cooking time:

Corn is a quick vegetable to cook. Bring one large pot of water to boil. While the water is heating remove all the husk and silk from each of corn. Drop corn into the boiling. When the water returns to a boil, the corn is done. Remove from boiling water with tongs and serve hot.

Looking for a new way to serve and eat your corn? Try these delicious recipes.

Chili Lime butter

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter

2 teaspoons chili powder

zest of one lime

lime cut into wedges

Directions:

1. set your butter on the kitchen counter to cool to room temperature

2. in a bowl mix the butter and remaining ingredients

3. Serve with 6 ears of cooked corn in the cob

Avocado and Corn Salsa

Ingredients:

3/4 cup corn, fresh or frozen

1/2 grape tomatoes, cut in half

1 medium avocado, diced

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro

2 teaspoons lime juice

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

1.cut all of the vegetables according to ingredient list

2. toss them together in a bowl

3. serve with tortilla chips

recipes courtesy of foodtv.com

A Rainbow of colors- Sweet Peppers

This week I received a purple bell pepper in my vegetable box. It was so beautiful. Did you know that Bell peppers come in a rainbow of colors-green, red, yellow, orange, white, purple and gold? Have you tried any?

Red, yellow and orange bell peppers are actually green peppers left on the vine to sweeten and change color. Red peppers have a higher amount of beta carotene and vitamin C level than their green counter part. Red peppers are also rich in vitamin E. No matter what color you choose, peppers will provide you with approximately 50 calories, 2 g protein, o g of fat, 45 RE vitamin A, 2 g fiber, 394 mg potassium and 341 mg vitamin C. Because of it's rich nutrient value sweet bell peppers make an excellent dietary choice and aid in the prevention of heart disease, some cancers, strokes and cataracts.

Have you ever spent money on a little jar of roasted red peppers? Expensive wasn't it? It was well worth the investment wasn't it? Roasted red peppers add a rich dense flavor to so many culinary dishes. But investing the money in store bought roasted peppers is really not necessary when you can easily roast the pepper yourself. Check out the following recipe for roasting peppers. Remember to cover the pepper in olive oil and you will be able to enjoy the peppers for up to 6 months when store in an air tight container in your refrigerator.

Roasted Red Peppers

Ingredients:

4 large red peppers, cut in half and seeded

olive oil (amount will depend on the size of your jar)

salt and pepper to taste

clean jar with a tight fitting lid

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees

2. In a shallow bowl, place 2 tablespoons of oil. Place peppers cut side up in the oil and coat.

3. Turn peppers over and season with salt and pepper.

4. Place peppers on a cookie sheet and roast in the oven for 20 minutes. If you have a gas grill you can place peppers directly on the greased grill and cover with grill lid.

5. Remove peppers from the oven and place in a bowl. Cover with Saran wrap for about 30 minutes to cool.

6. Gently remove the chard black skin from the peppers with the edge of a sharp knife, by gently scrapping the pepper.

7. Cut peppers into 1 inch slices and place in a clean jar. Cover peppers with olive oil and tightly cover with a lid. Store in refrigerator for up to 6 months.

8. When using the peppers, take jar out of refrigerator and set it on your kitchen counter for about 30 minutes to allow oil to warm and soften.

Enjoy in a variety of ways, such as a garnish on sandwiches, as an appetizer with provolone cheese and crusty Italian bread. The sky is the limit.

August is National Peach Month

August is National peach month!

Peaches are a delightful fruit and are plentiful this time of year. If you are like me, you may have an adverse reaction to the fuzzy skin, but don't let that keep you from eating this nutrient rich and flavorful fruit. Eating peaches is one of the joys of summer.

It is believed that peaches were first brought to America by Spanish Missionaries who settled in California, which boast the largest peach crops in the nation. Other peach producing states include Michigan, Colorado, South Carolina, New Jersey, Washington, Georgia, which is known as the "peach state" and our very own Pennsylvania. Today the United States produces up to 25% of the worlds peaches. The peach is now the third most popular fruit eaten in the USA!

Nutrition: peaches are rich in vitamin C supplying 6 mg per peach, 193 mg of potassium, 5 mg calcium, 2g of fiber and only 40 Kcal per medium peach.

Availability: fresh peaches are available May through October, with August being the most plentiful month in the Northeastern states.

Selection: to select the best peaches smell them. If they smell sweet, this is an indication they have a sweet taste as well. Also look for peaches with a yellow or cream colored skin. Some varieties will also have a red/orange skin tone. Eat ripened peaches right away. If peaches have not reached ripeness place them in a brown paper bag for 2-3 days on your kitchen counter.

Storage: peaches at peak flavor are best eaten at room temperature. You may store peaches in your refrigerator for 3-5 days. Remove peach from refrigerator and place on counter for a minimum of one hour to reach room temperature and peak flavor.

Try this lovely Grilled Peach Salsa for a great topper to pork or chicken dishes.

Grilled Peach Salsa

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pound ripe peaches, halved and pitted
1 teaspoon canola oil
2 Tbsp. finely chopped red onion
1 small jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1 lime, zested and juice
1/4 to1/2 cup fresh cilantro
2-3 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint

Directions:

1. Brush the cut sides of the peaches with oil
2. Grill them over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until they just begin to brown
3. Grill them with the lid down so that the peaches get cooked through
4. Chop them into 1/4 inch pieces and toss with the other ingredients

Enjoy over grilled chicken, pork or fish.

Nutritional information: serving size about 3/4 cup. 76 Kcal, 2 g fat, 16 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 2 g fiber, 2 mg sodium and 10 mg cholesterol.

Recipe courtesty of the Keiser Permanente website.

a moment of nostalgia

I have a drawer in my kitchen that is filled with recipes that I am collecting- Magazine cut-outs, recipe cards, scraps of paper with recipes I have scribbled down while waiting in the doctor's office or car repair waiting lounge. The drawer is a mess, but I love it. I love it because it reminds me of my mother and my childhood.

When I was a child my mother made a ceramic bowl that looked like a head of cabbage. It sat on our kitchen table and inside the bowl were recipes that she had ripped out of magazines or recipes she had scribbles on scraps of paper. I guess we just can't help becoming our parents and in this instance it's quite ok with me.


My mother was a fabulous cook. She didn't learn it from her mother, lord only knows my grandmother was a terrible cook and quite a sin for an Italian woman in my opinion (and everyone else Italian!) But by some stroke of luck, or Italian genetics, my mom and her sister were wonders in the kitchen. My sister and I are said to be good cooks as well, but our mother didn't really teach us either. She just hated when we got in her way in the kitchen. She preferred working alone, giving us the chores of setting the table and doing the dishes. Perhaps we learned from sheer olfactory osmosis and reading all of her recipes. Or maybe it just runs in our genes!


What my mother did teach me was the gift of hospitality. Not a week past in our home that we did not share a meal with someone. Never do I remember anyone turning down an invitation to dinner at our house. I loved when company came-there was the certainty of awesome food, lively conversation and a room full of love with family and friends snuggly tucked around our dinning room table. My cousin Louie still boasts of my mother's apple pie and mashed potatoes. "The best apple pie I ever had", my cousin expressed to me not too long ago. and "How did she get those potatoes so lump free?" Practice and love, I believe are the answers to those questions.


So I proudly carry the tradition into the next generation- I have no plans of cleaning out that drawer in my kitchen. It keeps me connected to a mother I lost all too soon in my life. I am thankful to have "inherited the gift of creating good food and for the joy of hospitality". In this fast paced, throw away society that we live in, I would like to challenge you this week to find an old family recipe and "whip it up" this week. Invite your family or friends over and squeeze around your dinning room or picnic table and have a nostalgic experience. It will do your heart good.


(Note- photo taken in 1965 when I was living in California. My mom is on the left sitting beside me. You can only see her hair! My dad and sister sit with us same side of table. My mom's sister, nieces and brother-in-law sit across from us and a cousin sits at the end of the table. Those were great times in our family history.)


On another note, if you haven't ventured out yet to see the movie Julie/Julia-go! If you enjoy reading my blog than you will love the movie. It will bless your soul on many levels.

http://www.julieandjulia.com/

Happy Faces

I love this time of year when the sunflowers are standing tall and proud in the garden. Their bright sunny faces are sure to put a smile on any face.

Sunflowers serve several purposes. You can cut the flowers to make a beautiful floral bouquet for your home, leave them in the field to bring joy to a on-lookers, leave them on the stems to feed the birds or harvest the seeds for eating yourself.

The tiny seeds serve as a good source of nutrients for the American diet. Just a quarter of a cup of sunflowers seeds will supply you with 205Kcal, 4 g of fiber, 8 g of protein, 18 mg of vitamin E, 127 mg of magnesium, 21 mg of selenium and 81 mg of folate.

If you are growing sunflowers in your yard this year and have never harvested the seeds before, heres a simply way to do it:

1. Allow the sunflower to mature on the vine. To determine maturity the back of the flower head with be brown and dry.By this time most of the flower petals will have fallen off. The seeds will appear plump and the shell will be striped black and white.

2.Before the seeds loosen and dry remove the flower from the stem, cutting the stalk about 12 inches long.

3. With your hand, gently rub the seeds out of the flower.

4. To prepare the seeds, cover them in salt water, making a solution of two quarts of water and 1/4 cup to 1/2 cups of salt. Place seeds in the water and place on stove. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for two hours. Or if you prefer, you may soak the seeds in salt water solution over night, omitting the heating, boiling, simmering process.

5. After you have soaked the seeds in the salt bath they are ready for roasting. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place seeds in a shallow roasting pan, making sure the seeds are spread over pan in a single layer. Bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring occassionally. Seeds are ready when they are golden brown.

6.Remove from oven and add 1 teaspoon of melted butter or margarine for every 1 cup of seeds roasted.

7.Cool on an absorbant towel.

8. Store seeds in an air tight container