A Bevy Of Marvelous Corn Beauties

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Ann Lovejoy
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Growing Sweet Corn In A Cool Climate

corn-male-flowerWho doesn’t love sweet corn? Crunchy, tender, sweet and earthy, corn tastes as good raw as cooked and belongs in dozens of splendid recipes. However, growing corn can be a challenge when you live where nights are cool. Since soil temperatures closely follow night air temperatures, corn planting should be delayed until garden soil is as warm as baby’s bath water.

Sadly, that may never happen all summer, so we usually need to give corn a bit of help if we want a decent harvest. (We also need to beat the raccoons to the crop, but that’s another story.) For fabulous sweet corn, plant in full sun and warm, well drained  soil (above 60 degrees F is best for this heat-loving crop).  To build rich corn flavor, amend soil generously with mature compost and mulch plants deeply. To boost soil heat, cover soil with sheets of red plastic (which is supposed to increase crop yields), spreading it out between the rows.

Let The Wind Blow

If early summer is cool, plant corn indoors under lights, transplanting gently when starts are 4-5 inches tall. Otherwise, plant seed corn an inch deep and about 12-18 inches apart. Since corn is wind pollinated, plant corn in 4 x 4 foot blocks to encourage good pollination. To avoid cross-pollination between corn varieties, separate various kinds by about 500 feet. Those with small gardens can enjoy more variety by corn-sharing with neighbors, each family growing a different kind, then sharing the ears when they ripen.

Fishy Growing Tips

Water corn weekly, providing about an inch of water each time.  Mulch will help conserve soil moisture, but in hot weather, you may need to water more often to keep ears full. Fertilize every few weeks with a mild (5-5-5) organic fertilizer as well as some kelp meal.  Back in the day, native people planted each hill of corn with a fat fish to provide a steady source of nutrients, and if you have lots of dead fish lying around, that still works. Otherwise, add fish emulsion or meal when you plant. Mulch generously with compost, which feeds the soil, enhances natural flavors by boosting sugar content, and also help to keep weeds from sprouting. If your garden space is small, consider growing traditional “three sisters” companion crops of beans and squash, as native American people have forever.

Dents and Flints and Cow Corn

beautiful cornThere are quite a few types of corn, from field corn and popcorn to ultrasweet hybrid corn. I vividly recall eating an ear (OK, one bite) of almost woody corn that turned out to be dent or “cow corn.” No thanks. However, dent corn (Zea mays indenata) is delicious ground, and some, like multicolored Earthtones, are utterly beautiful ornamentals, with gently tinted kernels in shades of gold, copper, bronze, pink, rose, green and yellow.

Native Americans have grown flint corn for millenia and flavorful heritage types can still be found in seed catalogs. These days, this very hard (flint-like) Indian corn (Zea mays indurata) is mostly used for hominy and grits in the US, though it is still widely grown throughout South and Central America. Though once a staple, flour corn (Zea mays amylacea) is rarely grown in home gardens today. White or blue, flour corn is mainly used in tortillas and baked goods.

Corn For Popping

Popcorn is Zea mays everta (everta means inside out), a flint-type corn with a soft center and a very hard hull that turns out to be an excellent source of antioxidant polyphenols. Popcorn pops when the soft center steams enough to blow itself open. Archeological digs in New Mexico show that people have been enjoying popcorn since at least 3600 B.C. so no wonder we still love the stuff!

How Sweet It Is

Whether yellow, white, or a blend of both (bicolor), sweet corns are hybridized to produce tender, extra-sweet kernels. While field corn runs about 4% sugars, sweet corns may be 10% or more, at least when fresh. Sadly, corn sugars start to convert to starches as soon as the ear is picked and can lost half its sweetness in a day. As I mentioned in my last post, instead of growing GMO corn, choose from a lovely range of delectable varieties such as Precocious, an early yellow corn with plump, buttery kernels. Next comes Bodacious, another sweet yellow with big ears great for eating on the cob. Honey Select is a delectable super sweet yellow corn, while Jubilee is excellent for canning or freezing.

If you prefer bicolors, try Delectable, with intensely sweet gold and white kernels on generous ears, or Sugar Dots, a new classic and a reliable cropper. Sugar Pearl offers meltingly sweet, creamy white kernels, while brilliantly burgundy Double Red Sweet combines lovely flavor with stunning beauty on the plate.

Bon Appetite!

Posted in Nutrition, preserving food, Soil, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Beware The Killer Corn

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Ann Lovejoy
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New Crops Present New Dangers

This year as you shop for corn seed or starts, pay close attention to the packaging. A number of seed companies are promoting the same Roundup Ready corn seed for home growers as is already used by many commercial growers. Advocates claim that inserting Roundup resistant genes into crops such as soybeans, alfalfa, and corn, helps farmers produce larger crops with less work. In fact, as the past decades have revealed, Roundup use creates as many or more problems than it solves.

Roundup is Monsanto’s best selling broad spectrum, systemic herbicide, popular with both home gardeners and commercial growers. Its active ingredient is called glyphosate, more specifically the isopropylamine salt of glyphosate. An inhibitor of enzyme production, glyphosate works by destroying cells of plants in active growth and is not effective as a pre-emergent herbicide. Glyphosate has itself been found variably toxic for variable amounts of time, ranging from as little as a few days in sunny fields to several years in forest environments.

What Harm Can It Do?

In animals (including humans), glyphosate has a teratogenic effect, causing fetal mutations and birth defects. Probably due to their combinations of ingredients, ingested Roundup formulations can damage lungs, kidneys, and the liver, and may kill outright, and glyphosate is toxic to human skin. It is also a recognized endocrine disruptor and in combinations such as Roundup preparations can cause genetic damage.

Inactive Ingredients Can Also Do Harm

Many folks are surprised to learn that so-called “inactive” ingredients in pesticides may in fact be harmful. Because they are not considered to be the primary or active ingredient, these additional ingredients are not rated by the EPA. For instance, Roundup’s primary surfactant (sticking agent) is POEA (polyethoxylated tallow amine), recognized as toxic to a wide range of wildlife, including frogs and fish. A potent surfactant, it also carries other toxic ingredients directly into the living cells of both plant and animals (including people).

No Testing Required, Evidently

Many American fondly imagine that the EPA is indeed a protective agency. When I give talks on pesticide toxicity, somebody always says something like: “But they wouldn’t allow harmful products to be marketed, right?” First of all, “they” are an overworked, understaffed agency subjected to significant political pressure. Second of all, American law requires only that the professed active ingredients of a toxic product be tested. Furthermore, the EPA does very little of the testing itself, relying instead on test reports commissioned by product manufacturers. Really.

However, few if any commercial pesticides involve a single ingredient, and few if any are tested for any additional toxicity that may be present in the specific combinations sold to the public. Thus, none of the various forms of Roundup were ever tested by the EPA, though glyphosate is EPA rated with Class 3 toxicity (dangers for oral and inhalation exposure).

Overuse Creates Superweeds

Because Roundup Ready crops offer resistance to Roundup products, commercial farmers can spray entire crops and kill only the weeds. However, just as overuse of antibiotics has created increasingly deadly strains of resistant bacteria, so Roundup has created Superweeds. Repeated exposure to glyphosate herbicides have selected for highly resistant strains of common crop pests, including running grasses, pigweeds, and water hemp.

Though Australian farmers were the first to identify such superweeds, Ag departments in at least 13 US states have confirmed herbicide-resistant crop weed problems encompassing over 100 kinds of weeds in more than 60 species. The problem is spreading worldwide: Argentinian farmers must now contend with herbicide-resistant Johnson grass (a nightmare in any form), while illicit Bolivian coca crops are increasingly resistant, and Chinese farmers report superweed problems as well.

French Farmers Fight Back

Some states have attempted to hold Monsanto responsible, starting in 1996, when New York State’s attorney general filed suit against Monsanto for false and misleading advertising of glyphosate products in stating that Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicide sprays were “safer than table salt” and “practically non-toxic” to wildlife, from mammals to fish and birds.

In 2001, French environmentalists filed suit against Monsanto for claiming Roundup to be biodegradable and stating that sprayed field soil retained no toxins. Since the European Union rates glyphosate as “dangerous for the environment” and “toxic for aquatic organisms,” Monsanto was convicted of false advertising in January 2007, a ruling that was confirmed in 2009.

Losing Battle For Farmer’s Rights

In Canada and the US, farmers have been successfully sued by Monsanto for “stealing” their proprietary genetic engineering when wind-blown pollen infected non GMO crops in neighboring fields. Farmers who painstakingly developed and saved their own strains of crops such as soybeans, corn and rye not only had their own stock contaminated but had their crops seized as contraband and were usually forced to compensate Monsanto for the “theft” as well. For even worse consequences check out this report: Contaminating the Wild? Gene Flow from Experimental Field Trials of Genetically Engineered Crops to Related Wild Plants.

Eating Herbicide in Your Food

Unless you are buying exclusively organically raised food, changes are good that you are feeding yourself and your family with herbicide residues. Indeed, given the problems of wind-traveling and polinator-carried GMO genetic material, even some organically grown crop are very likely contaminated. Because glyphosate is a systemic toxin, it is quickly absorbed into every particle of a plant. In one study, annual crops such as carrots and lettuce that were planted in fields a full year after they had been treated contained measurable pesticide residues.

Unknown and Accidental Results

What else might be waiting to be revealed? The more we learn about genetic engineering, the more obvious its extreme complexity becomes. While scientist have been operating under the assumption that a given gene manipulates a single function, we now know that genetic interactions are not so simple. Newer research focussed on networked genomes shows that our early bioengineering attempts produced accidental and unrecognized dangers, some of which are only now becoming apparent.

What Can We Do?

So far, most grassroots attempts to expose and stop potentially or already harmful GMO practices have focussed on Monsanto, the largest agricultural biotech player. However, Monsanto is not alone. Among the largest companies that are engaged in similar work are Bayer CropScience, BASF, Dow AgroSciences, Dupont Biotechnology, Syngenta Biotechnology, and Ventria Bioscience. Numerous smaller player are also working in the bioengineering arena.

Though Monsanto has been the overall winner in most of the citizen action attempts, there is a growing awareness that all is not right in the biochemical kingdom. Even so, Monsanto and its kin companies continue to wield bigger guns and produce more political pressure than grassroots activists can muster.

So What CAN We Do?

As always, we can vote with our pocketbooks, refusing to buy GMO seed or plants or foodstuffs. We can let our preferred vendors know about our feelings and we can boycott companies that continue to promote products we feel are dangerous and/or irresponsible. This might include grocery stores, box stores, restaurants and fast food chains, plant nurseries, seed companies and so on.

Is this really worth fussing over? Consider this quote from the Environmental Working Group: “If Monsanto hid what it knew about its toxic pollution for decades, what is the company hiding from the public now? This question seems particularly important to us as this powerful company asks the world to trust it with a worldwide, high-stakes gamble with the environmental and human health consequences of its genetically modified foods.”

For more information about Monsanto’s Roundup-Ready crops, visit these links:
http://www.sourcewatch.or/index.php?title=Monsanto_and_the_Roundup_Ready_Controversy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundup_%28herbicide%29
http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Monsanto:External_links#Archived_articles
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/07/monsantos-roundup-residues-in-gm-food-cause-cell-damage.aspx
http://farmandranchfreedom.org/gmo-miscarriages
http://www.motherearthnews.com/natural-home-living/usda-caves-in-to-monsanto-on-roundup-ready-alfalfa.aspx
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/23/monsanto-roundup-ready-miscarriages_n_827135.html

Posted in fall/winter crops, Garden Prep, Pets & Pests In The Garden, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living, Weed Control | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Simple Spring Sushi

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Ann Lovejoy
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Making Garden Variety Sushi With Cats

My friend Noyuri recently gave a little class on how to make simple sushi. It was so much fun and the sushi tasted so delicious that now I make myself a batch every week. I am especially fond of combining cucumber, avocado, and mustard greens, with a slice of egg pancake tucked in. Yum!

Mustard greens are gorgeous and tasty, adding color and a snappy little bite to almost anything, from tuna or egg salads and cheese and bacon sandwiches to green salads. Shredded mustard greens make a wonderfully crunchy, spunky garnish for soups and stir fries and are lovely with grilled fish or vegetables like asparagus and young peas. This year, my favorites are Red Rain and a pungent mix of wild garden types (from Log House Plants, of course).

Cats In The Kitchen

In March, I inherited a young Maine Coon cat, Pippsissewa, when my son and his wife moved to Indianola. Pip is usually a scaredy cat but she is fascinated by sushi. She had never jumped on the counter before (at least not when I could see her) so I was amazed when she boldly poked her little nose right in to see what I was up to.

When my back was turned for a moment, she sneaked up and stole the whole stack of nori sushi wrappers. When I turned around, she was rolling on the floor, happily growling away and tussling with the big sheets. I took them away from her but gave her one that she had poked a hole in. She played with it for hours, rolling on it, chewing away, then tearing around the house with the whole (sort of) sheet of seaweed in her mouth.

Cats Love Seaweed

When I told Noyuri, she laughed and said that her cats also love seaweed, perhaps because it smells like the sea. Who knows? Anyway, it is full of minerals and fiber and certainly can’t hurt her, so I decided to let Pip have her very own seaweed sheet to keep. She has certainly had less attractive play things that were way harder to clean up (and involved a lot more feathers!).

Roll ‘Em Roll ‘Em Roll ‘Em

Noyuri had classic bamboo rolling mats for students to use. The mats are fun, but I find that I can roll up my sushi beautifully on a clean tea towel. Like several of my other Japanese friends, Noyuri uses the kind of nori sheets that come from Japan, which are more expensive than the kinds from China. Many people say that any kind will do, but I have noticed that some Chinese versions tend to be a little persistently chewy, where the Japanese brands are less obtrusive in the mouth.

The temperature of your ingredients also makes a big difference to the end product. For best results, everything should be at room temperature, neither hot nor cold. Thus, it’s good to make your rice well ahead so it has time to cool. If the sticky rice is still even a little bit warm, it can cause the nori sheets to buckle and shrink (as I soon discovered).

Here are a couple of very simple recipes to try:

Garden Sushi Rolls

1 English cucumber, sliced into long, thin pieces
2 avocados, sliced lengthwise into strips
1 red or yellow sweet pepper, sliced lengthwise
1 tablespoon ponzu or sweet rice vinegar
Nori wrappers (package of 10)
2 cups sushi rice (see below)
1 cup cold water
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
10 leaves mustard greens
1 egg pancake, sliced (see below)

Combine sliced vegetables and vinegar, set aside. Toast the nori wrappers for a few seconds over a hot oven burner (electric or gas). Place one sideways on a tea towel or bamboo roller (the orientation is landscape rather than portrait). Dab four blobs of rice (about a tablespoon each) in the corners of the nori wrapper. Dipping your fingers in cold water (often), smush rice thinly over the whole sheet, leaving about 1/2 inch bare at the top. (Add more rice as needed, but sparingly.) Sprinkle a band of sesame seeds across the wrapper about 2 inches from the bottom, then arrange slices of vegetables sideways across the sheet. Add mustard greens and a slice of egg pancake, tuck in tightly and roll up, pressing gently to seal the roll closed. Slice completed rolls with a VERY sharp knife, starting with a center cut (slice, don’t saw) and rounding each piece as you go. Each roll makes either 6 or 8 pieces, depending on the size of your nori wrappers.

Variations On A Theme

Through the summer, you can vary the ingredients according to your garden yields. Other good additions include sliced radishes and radish sprouts, carrot spears, green onions, asparagus, green beans, snow peas or snap peas (whole pods), pickled peppers, and pickled ginger slices.

Egg Pancake

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Heat oil over medium high heat in a covered pan. Whisk eggs, sugar and salt and pour into heated pan, tilting to spread evenly. Cover and cook over medium heat until set and puffed. Cool and cut into strips.

Sushi Rice

2 cups Niko Niko or Japanese rice
12.5 ounces (360 ml) water
4.5 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt

Rinse rice until water is clear, drain and put in rice cooker with water. If cooking in a pan, bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer until water is absorbed (about 15 minutes). In either case, once the rice is done, let it stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Combine vinegar, sugar and salt. Put rice in a bowl and fold in vinegar mixture with a wooden paddle (don’t stir). Let cool to room temperature before using.

Make Inari With Leftover Stuffing

Chop and mix all extra stuff with rice and tuck it into Inari wrappers (I like the refrigerated kind, especially the brand Hikari Inari). These are little pockets, like bite-sized tofu pita, that come soaked in soy sauce and mirin. Be warned: They are irresistible!

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Goodness How Delicious

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Ann Lovejoy
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Eating Early Peas

An old song from Civil war days has a charming refrain: ‘Peas, peas, peas, peas, eating Georgia peas, goodness how delicious, eating Georgia peas!” The peas in question were actually what we now call peanuts, an oil- and protein-rich legume that is not easily grown here in the chilly maritime Northwest. Happily, however, true peas love our damp, often unseasonably cool climate and are often among the first garden crops to yield.

The first appearance of practically anything locally grown is always cause for celebration. Around here, the first peas are apt to be tender-podded snow peas. Sweet and crisp, these lovely young things make delicious additions to entrees as well as salads, side dishes, and stir fries.

Indulging In Snow Peas

If you love the fresh green taste of raw vegetables, try shredding snow peas as garnish. They taste lovely atop a bowl of Spring Green Soup, a steaming concoction of young kale, spinach, and fresh sorrel enriched with pasta (I favor herb flavored fettuccini, which cook in 3 minutes).

When you want an elegant entree fast, consider the charms of Fettuccine with Smoked Salmon and Snow Peas. Lively with capers and balsamic vinegar, the sauce cooks while the pasta does, and this tasty, piquant dish can be on the table in under 20 minutes.

Fettuccine with Smoked Salmon and Snow Peas

8-10 ounces fettuccine
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
8 brown field mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups snow peas, ends trimmed, thinly sliced
1 cup dry white wine OR vegetable broth
6 ounces soft smoked salmon, skinned and broken into chunks
1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons capers, drained
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, stemmed
2 tablespoons Romano or Asiago cheese, grated

Cook fettuccine according to package directions. While pasta cooks, heat oil and garlic in a shallow pan over medium high heat and cook, stirring often, until lightly golden (2-3 minutes). Add mushrooms, sprinkle with salt and cook, pan covered, for 2 minutes. Add wine or broth, bring to a simmer, add snow peas and smoked salmon, cover pan and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer gently until heated (2-3 minutes). Stir in vinegar, capers, and parsley and serve at once over hot, drained fettuccine, garnished with grated cheese.  Serves four.

With Chipotle On The Side

An old jazz tune recommends serving chipotle on the side, but I say stir ’em in! Dried chipotle pepper flakes add sizzle to Orange Prawns With Snow Peas, another fast-cooking dish that’s pleasing on both plate and palate. Fresh fennel, green onions, and Swiss chard add body to plump prawns and crunchy snow peas, all bathed in fresh orange juice with a touch of cilantro.

Orange Prawns With Snow Peas And Peanuts

1 teaspoon canola oil
1/4 teaspoon dried chipotle pepper flakes
1 organic orange, juiced, rind grated
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups bulb fennel, chopped
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups Swiss chard, stemmed and shredded
1 pound cleaned, deveined prawns
2 cups snow peas, ends trimmed, shredded
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons cilantro, stemmed
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts

In a heavy frying pan, combine oil, pepper flakes, orange rind, and garlic and cook over medium high heat until pale golden (1-2 minutes). Add fennel and green onions, sprinkle with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until fennel is barely tender (4-5 minutes). Add chard, cover pan and cook until slightly wilted (2-3 minutes). Add prawns and snow peas and cook, stirring occasionally, until prawns are opaque (3-4 minutes). Add orange juice, cover pan and cook for 2 minutes. Serve hot over Spring Rice, garnished with cilantro and peanuts. Serves four.

A Nicer Rice

Serve the prawns or any stir-fry over Spring Rice, a pretty dish of savory, fragrant jasmine rice cooked with garlic, chives, and orange zest and fluffed with fresh orange juice.

Spring Rice

1 teaspoon canola olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon chives, chopped
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 organic orange, juiced, rind grated
1 cup raw jasmine rice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 tablespoons cilantro, stemmed

In a heavy saucepan, heat oil and garlic over medium high heat until lightly browned (2-3 minutes). Stir in chives, green onions, orange rind, and rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden (4-6 minutes). Add salt  and broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until done (about 20 minutes). When rice is done, remove from heat, drizzle with orange juice, fluff with a fork, and let stand 5 minutes before serving, garnished with cilantro. Serves four.

So Simply Green

Among my favorite spring dishes is this fragrant, flavorful soup. Rich with spring greens, it can easily be made vegan by eliminating the butter and using vegetable broth. Garnish it with any fresh herbs (fennel and frilly mustard greens are especially delicious).

Spring Green Soup

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon butter
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 organic lemon, juiced, rind grated
1 tablespoon garlic greens OR chives, chopped
2 cups snow peas, ends trimmed, shredded
1 bunch kale, stemmed and shredded
1 bunch spinach, stemmed and shredded
2 tablespoons French sorrel, stemmed and shredded
1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 cups vegetable OR chicken broth
1/4 cup Greek style yogurt

In a soup pot, heat oil and butter over medium high heat until melted. Add green onions, lemon rind and garlic greens or chives and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add 1-3/4 cups snow peas, reserving the rest for garnish. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add kale, spinach, and sorrel, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover pan and cook until barely wilted (2-3 minutes). Add broth, bring to a simmer (5-6 minutes) and add lemon juice. Serve at once, garnished with sour cream and shredded snow peas. Serves 4-6.

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