AT WATCH IN THE FIELDS OF THE LORD

 

From Linda Lee Greene Author/Artist

As the daylight hours grow shorter with the natural rotation of Earth, and even more so with the resumption of standard time in my neck of the woods, the landscape has turned from luminous hues of summertime greens to radiant shades of autumn golds and burgundies, and too soon, to winter’s promise of its black and white contrasts. More than likely, farmers in the Midwest USA have harvested their corn fields by now, but Google says that the foot-draggers have another week or so to get their crops gathered and stored or sent to market. If that is the case, the slowpokes will be picking frozen corn. Plump and fresh corn is of particular interest at this time of the looming high-holidays, and while it is a welcome side dish on dinner tables and pretty models for my watercolor painting (shown below), those things are not the only essential features of corn.

 

If we have paid attention, we are aware of corn’s silent presence in an almost endless array of consumer products. But I wager that a lot of lay persons know very little about corn’s shaggy stalks beyond their prominent place in fall decorations and as sentinels over the farm fields in which corn will reemerge next year. Savvy farmers understand the enormous role that corn stalks play in the entire growing process of the plant, and they must decide whether their removal at season’s end will impact positively or negatively on the health of the soil and the environment. For the good of the soil and the connective tissue of the ecosystem, typically only every other row of the stalks is baled and hauled away to be used in other ways such as bedding for farm animals and as a supplement to the livestock’s customary feed during the long and cold Midwest winters. An example of the every-other-row harvesting technique is shown in the photograph by my friend Rae Penn. This field of stacked corn stalks is in Adams County, Ohio, USA.

 

            Why leave any residue at all of crops in fields? Eons ago, farmers were apt to clear their fields entirely following the harvest. This was because the soil was still full of natural substances that provided nourishment essential for its health, which gave forth admirable yields. With the passage of time and the penchant of some farmers to overwork and overplant fields without replenishment measures taken, the soil became barren of the vital nutrients. With time and experience, workers of the soil figured out that leaving decomposing corn stalks in the fields fed the soil of necessary organic material to keep it viable. The corn stacks also act as a cover crop that help to hold back soil erosion during inclement weather conditions.

A second replenishment method is to reuse the corn stalks that served as bedding for livestock after it has been composted with the winter’s accumulation of the animal’s manure. This produces a nutrient-dense fertilizer, which is spread onto the fields.

The farmer’s system of recycling for purposes of frugality and mainly of replenishment ecology brings me back to my thoughts about the high-holidays before us. Among my family and friends, holiday gatherings are sources of emotional and spiritual replenishment for us just as surely as the corn stalks are nourishment for the farm fields that feed us.©

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BASKET OF CORN, watercolor by Linda Lee Greene

 

HOW TO COOK CORN IN THE HUSK

I am advised that cooking corn in the husk is the best and easiest way to get corn on the cob ready to plate. Its fans swear by it and will never struggle with the messy job of husking uncooked cobs of corn again. And be assured that once the corn on the cob is cooked, for some reason, the husks come off easier and cleaner than on raw husks. The next question is whether to grill, bake, boil, or microwave the corn on the cob, all of which can be done with the husks still attached to the cob.

 

If opting to grill, the husk actually protects the corn from burning. Place the cobs of corn in their husk directly on the grill for 15 minutes. Turn the cobs fairly often.

To bake corn on the cob, place them in the husk on a baking sheet in a preheated oven at 350F. Roast for 30 minutes.

The stovetop method requires bringing a pot of water to a boil and then placing the corn in the husk in the water. Boil for 10 minutes.

Based on my research, the hands down favorite method is to microwave corn on the cob in the husk. For 1 ear of corn in the husk, nuke on High for 4 minutes; 2 ears will require 7 minutes, 3 ears need 9 minutes, and 4 ears will need to nuke for 10 minutes.

Whether grilling, baking, boiling, or microwaving, allow the cobs to cool enough to handle, and then one by one cut off the very bottom of the husk at the place it is attached to the cob. Grasp the husk by the top, pull, and it will slide right off.

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Multi-award-winning author, Linda Lee Greene’s GARDEN OF THE SPIRITS OF THE POTS: A Spiritual Odyssey is a novella in which ex-pat American Nicholas Plato relocates to Sydney, Australia to escape the mental torture of devastating losses back home. Strange encounters in Australia’s outback with an Indigenous potter reveal to Nicholas unexpected blessings and a new way of living. The novella is available in eBook and/or paperback. Just click the following blue link and it will take you straight to the page on Amazon on which you can purchase the book. https://www.amazon.com/GARDEN-SPIRITS-POTS-SPIRITUAL-ODYSSEY-ebook/dp/B09JM7YL6F/

 

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