The last two days have been full of work. Fun work, but work nevertheless.
The garden has now been prepped for it’s winter planting. The tomato plants have been picked clean, basil leaves are stocked in baggies and await their turn in the food processor to become pesto and chimichurri sauce, and the melons have been harvested, consumed (by the kiddos and before I even got a chance) and all the summer plants have been pulled and placed into the compost bin. I have piles of red and unripe green tomatoes on the counter and in bins – all the bins and bowls in fact. Most of the herbs that have started to go to seed have been cut back and the seeds are drying on racks and will be stored until next springs planting. And the next few days will find us cooking, canning and pickling what is left in order to hold onto summer as long as possible.
Tomorrow, however, will find me adding compost to the soil, aerating, and planning what winter plants go where. I’m beyond excited to plant my very first winter garden and to watch it grow.
I’m a bit of a gardening nerd, if you will.
Tonight, and right before Avery’s bedtime, I asked him if he wanted to help me cut the basil down. I barely got the sentence out before he yelled, “YES!” and bolted outside and around the side of the house, directly to the garden.
When we started cutting he asked, “Mama, why are we cutting the basil? I like it so much.” (He likes everything so much right now which is just the sweetest, BTW.)
I answered, “Well, we have to cut the basil down so that we can make room to plant other vegetables like broccoli and carrots – you like those and won’t it be fun to grow your own?”
There was a big pause…. I was expecting him to tell me something about broccoli and carrots when he said excitedly, “And mama, we can plant chocolate chip cookies too!!”
Um…er….ah….
But instead of answering I asked him if he could hold the giant pile of basil so I could take his picture because my goodness, this kid is just adorable and growing up waaaaaaaay to fast. So a couple of clicks later we got a boy and his basil and then headed inside for teeth brushing, bedtime stories and songs before the snoring started.
What does all this gardening/funny business have to do with grilled corn on the cob you ask? Well, nothing really. Nothing at all.
But last week we had more corn on hand then we could eat so I had to get inventive and this is what I came up with – grilled corn on the cob, mexican style. Crumbly feta cheese and greek yogurt are mixed with some tangy lime juice and spicy chile powder and smeared all over piping hot and charred corn on the cob. It’s a great recipe to add to your Labor Day grilling menu – a last hurrah before the broccoli, carrots, and chocolate chip cookies start growing.
Have a great holiday weekend!!
XO,
Jenn
chile-lime corn on the cob with feta cheese
makes six servings
six ears of corn
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons mild chile powder
1/2 cup greek yogurt
pinch of salt
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup water
Preheat grill with high heat. Carefully peel back the husks of the corn, leaving as many leaves intact as possible. Remove the silk and discard.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the feta cheese, lime juice, chile powder, yogurt, salt and half of the cilantro. Add a little bit of the water at a time until you get a pourable consistency.
Turn the heat down to medium and grill the corn, turning every now and then, until the corn is cooked through and has grill marks.
Top the corn with the feta sauce and sprinkle the rest of the cilantro over the top of the sauce. Serve immediately.
Leave a Reply