a letter from Grandma Wiser - Are we your sunshine....daddy?

Dear Evelyn,

Your Grandparents and Daddy have been giving me good compliments on how good I am on food. They love my food. Even though the food I cook is from my memory, well!! I would say I am guessing most of the time:) They love how creative I am. I am not saying that I am a good cook but I have been thoughtful on food expense, especially right now I am not making any income but Daddy is. Therefore, I have to find the way to spend less money. Here is what I have been doing: try not to waste anything we have in the fridge. For the left over food, I would eat it up for the next meal or change it into a new dish. When I want to decide what to cook, I would base on what I have in the fridge but not buying any more stuff. That way, I don’t spend anymore money and wasting vegetables or meat that are going to be bad any time. I am writing this because I wanted you to know one of my points of view. I am hoping that you’ll learn this one day.

Speaking of not wasting food, Mommy wanted to share how to preserve corn with you. Daddy got lots of corn for the cookout on Wednesday. By Saturday we still had lots of them left and they were going to be bad so I decided to freeze them. I got this recipe from Your Grandma and Grandpa Wiser. Before I wrote this page I called Grandma Wiser up and had her write how to preserve corn for me, so she did. Here is the letter from Grandma to you.

Dear Evelyn,

Your mother is a very frugal person and especially does not like to waste food, so she decided to freeze the corn on the cob, which was left over from your daddy's party for the residents.

Step One: First she husked the corn by starting at the tassel end and pulling the outer green leaves off and then removing the inner silks.

Step Two: She got a large pot of boiling water ready on the stove and filled the sink with very cold water.

Step Three: Next, she put the corn in the boiling water and blanched it (also called scalding) for 4-7 minutes (depending on the size of the ear.) You begin counting the blanching time as soon as you place the corn in the boiling water. Cover the kettle and boil at a high temperature for the required length of time. This is an important step because all fruits and vegetables contain enzymes that, over time, will break down and change the color and flavor of food. Boiling the corn before you freeze it, stops these enzymes.

Step Four: Next, she cooled the corn immediately to prevent the corn from over cooking. Then she drained it.

Step Five: She then cut the kernels from the cob using a sharp knife.

Step Six: Finally, she put the corn into Ziploc bags and put them in the freezer.

Grandma and Grandpa Wiser use a straw and seal the Ziploc around the straw to suck the air out of the bag, then pinch the straw and quickly remove it while pressing the seal. This removes the air and helps to prevent drying and freeze burn.

The neat thing is, she did all of this while taking care of you!

The annual ritual of "putting up" canned or frozen fruits and vegetables, has been a tradition in our family for many generations. In earlier days, the preservation of food was a necessity for our relatives. Today, we find the process of preserving good food very satisfying and rewarding.

Love,

Grandma Janney