Thinking of dinner ideas? With autumn just around the corner, it’s time to take advantage of fresh and local late summer ingredients at their peak! Here are 10 must-eat foods that are ripe right now with 10 recipes to inspire your next grocery trip.

1. Berries



2. Plums



3. Peaches



4. Melons



5. Green Beans



6. Corn



7. Eggplant



8. Celery Root



9. Tomatoes



10. Zucchini

Need More Inspiration to Take Advantage of Fresh Ingredients?
The Splendid Table
Greg Atkinson’s Apple Pie
The Break Away Cook

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Categories:	Vegetarian • Veggies	2 Comments
Tags:	berries • celery root • corn • green beans • Late Summer food • melons • peaches • plums • tomatoes • zucchini

Photo by: Gaetan Lee

One of my very first food memories is the taste of raw, sweet, corn on the cob. It is a rather rebellious flavor to me. Mostly because of the way in which the sweet corn was acquired but also because I didn’t eat it cooked- I ate it raw, the “wrong” way.

When I was about five and my brother and neighbor were seven, we stole several cobs of corn right out of our neighbor’s backyard.

We had to wade through fields of three-foot tall, tickly grass and climb over two fences to reach the corn field. Once we ripped off the cobs, we ran back through the field to our secret fort, a little hollowed out area under a canopy of leaves in a giant bush in my parent’s front yard. At the time, it seemed that we knew what we were doing with a small, 4-cup red saucepan, half full of water and a book of matches. Obviously, it made sense to light a fire and attempt to boil water, all under a canopy of leaves in the summer. Thankfully, none of the matches would light, which led us to try the corn raw. We were breaking the rules, of course, by attempting to light a fire without an adult present, but even more rebellious to me was peeling back the stalks right there, letting the corn silk fall on our bare summer legs and taking a bite of corn that wasn’t even cooked!  The starchy, sweet kernels popped unfamiliarly in my mouth and left me a changed girl.

After my raw corn experience, I even tried to convince my mother that it was the only way I was ever going to eat corn on the cob again.  At my request, I vividly recall one dinner where she gladly set a pale yellow, uncooked, corncob onto my plate, probably thinking it would be the last raw corn I would eat. And not to her surprise, it was. Who knows why my devotion to raw corn on the cob wavered? It’s likely due to the fact that I was treated to sweet corn cooked in a multitude of ways throughout my childhood and my preferences continued to evolve.

Now my tastes for sweet corn are far from rebellious, but just as innocent: sweet corn, in season, hot off the barbecue and slathered in melted butter with sea salt. While the thought of eating raw corn isn’t as exciting as it once was, I do have to nibble on a raw corn kernel now and then, before the cobs hit the grill, simply for sweet nostalgia.

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Categories:	Uncategorized	Leave a Comment
Tags:	corn • sweet corn

Tonight Barnaby, Sheri, and my husband John and I are joining other friends and Barnaby’s parents for dinner. We are making Donna Brazile’s mama’s gumbo from her book Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in America.  Donna graced us with her presence at an event for the Washington Women Lawyers last week and inspired us personally, politically, and yes – gastronomically. As our contribution, John and I are bringing this corn pudding and two South African wines – Goats in Villages, a Shiraz Pinotage blend from South African winemaker Goats Do Roam, and a Sauvignon Blanc from Porcupine Ridge, another South African bottle from the Cape of Good Hope. Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Corn Pudding

Butter: 1 stick
Corn: yellow or white, frozen or fresh, 5 cups (approx 6-8 ears)
Shallots: 1/2 cup (finely minced)
Jalepenos: 1/4 cup (or to taste, seeded; finely minced)
Onion: 2 tablespoons (finely minced)
Milk: 1 cup
Half-and-Half: 1 cup
Yellow Cornmeal or Polenta: 1/2 cup
Ricotta Cheese: 1 cup
Eggs: 5 large or 4 extra-large (I don’t use extra-large eggs, my mom said they come from older chickens – not sure if that’s true, but it’s turned me away from the big ones – if you have thoughts on this, I’d love to hear it.)
Herbs: chives or basil is nice, though you can experiment with the herbs or include a mixture (approx 3 tablespoons or to taste)
Sugar: 1 tablespoon
Salt: Kosher, 1 tablespoon
Pepper: 3/4 teaspoon (I prefer a mixture of black and white, but you may use either or include pink and green peppercorns as well if you like)
Cheese: I like to ad 3/4 cup of finely grated extra-sharp cheddar, though you may also want to try other cheeses (save a little to sprinkle on top)
Optional Ingredients: You may also add finely minced red pepper, replace the shallot with onion, add green onions, the choices are almost limited. Experiment and let me know what you think works well.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease an 8 to 10 cup backing dish. I like to use individual ramekins for this recipe, which should make 10-12 individual servings.

Melt butter and add shallots, onion and jalepeno. Do not brown. Simply cook for 4-5 minutes in order to mellow out these flavors and avoid a raw taste in your mixture. If you are using fresh corn or adding red pepper or other vegetables, I recommend adding them to this step as well. Cool a little before adding to the batter to avoid cooking the eggs.

Whisk eggs and milk together with ricotta cheese.

Add corn meal/polenta, salt, pepper, and sugar to the wet ingredients. When thoroughly blended add butter/veg mixture above.

Add cheese and pour into the baking dish of your choice. Sprinkle with a little cheese (optional).

Bake in a water bath. For those of you unfamiliar with using a water bath, simply place baking dish in a larger pan and fill the pan 1/2 up the sides with hot tap water.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until the top begins to brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serve warm.

I am preparing this dish for a dinner party tonight and prepared the batter in advance to bake at my Barnaby and Sheri’s house. I plan to assemble the ingredients and bake at their house in order to serve warm and fresh. I was concerned that joining the ingredients too early would cause my pudding to be too oniony – so, I prepared my ingredients into 5 main components: (a) dry ingredients; (b) wet ingredients (milks, eggs, ricotta); (c) butter with vegetables (onions, shallot, jalepeno, etc); (d) grated cheese; (e) herbs; (f) corn (fresh or thawed frozen). I plan to assemble at their house and bake. Next time I make this, I might try to make it souffle-style by beating my egg-whites separately and folding them into the ingredients just before baking. I haven’t tried this yet – so when I do, I will let you know – but if you have, please speak up. I’d love to hear how folding in egg-whites would change the result.

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Cheese • Entertaining • Veggies • wine	5 Comments
Tags:	corn • corn pudding • ramekin • side dish • Veggies • wine