Upon waking this morning, I decided to one up my run from yesterday. I increased my distance to 2.5 miles. It still amazes me how difficult running is after my short time off! My breathing has become more labored. My time, however, showed that I have not suffered a decrease in speed. I am hitting a 9 minute mile, my second usually in the upper 8s. Maybe I should slow down until I work my distance up? Not sure what I should focus my energy on. I am just going with the flow right now.
Anyway, following my run and hip flexor stretches, I spent the majority of my morning cleaning up around the house. It was neglected a good scrub down since my surgery and I absolutely cannot stand a dirty home!
Afterwards, Peter and I journeyed out to my family's farm to pick corn. I have indulged in corn on the cob from our farm for as long as I can remember. It has been a staple in our summer meals and I want it to remain that way through the fall/winter months. So I decided to pick a ton to freeze.
You want to freeze farm fresh corn as well? Here is how we did it!
Peter and I left with 2 sacks of corn, giving us about 6 dozen ears to work with. It was going to be a long process, but every bit of work we put in to it will be appreciated in the cold months!
First, we sat on our front porch to husk the ears, that way we would not end up with a mess in our freshly cleaned kitchen (be prepared for a mess anyway!).
Note: We dumped the husks in our backyard, no need to waste a trash bag when disposing organic material. Put it in a compost pile!
Second, it was recommended to me to lightly boil the corn. My father explained that this stops any growth of bacteria on the corn and it will keep longer. My dad has been a farmer his entire life and is an expert when it comes to corn! You cannot deny 40+ years of experience and not take their advice! So I boiled the corn for about 2-3 minutes in a large 12 QT stock pot.
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| It was hard not to start chomping away immediately!!! |
Next, I took a bundt pan and used the center hole to support one ear as I shaved the kernels from the cob. This was an idea I came across on Pinterest. I have to say, the person who thought to do this is a genius. It really helped prevent a larger mess from being made.
I would shave about 7 ears (seemed like a good number) and spoon the kernels into a FoodSaver freezer bag. It was manually programmed to do a gentle speed for moist food. We had about 11 bags vacuum sealed by the end. Peter labeled them with the date and amount of cobs that went into each bag.
And then your done!!
From the time we began husking to sitting the corn in the freezer, it took me about 2 hours to prepare 70+ ears of corn. I also got a blister at the bottom of my index finger from the constant knife use. So, be prepared for a long process if you are doing over 70 ears.
I am thinking to try and finish each bag within a 6 month time frame for best results. According to FoodSaver's website, you can keep vegetables for 2-3 years. Not too sure how I feel about that, but I know that the corn will not last that long in this house. I will have it devoured.
What would your primary focus be after an extended time off from running? Speed or distance?
Do you strive to keep your home clean? How often do you clean your house?
Have you ever froze/canned any produce to keep during the winter? What's your favorite thing to freeze/can?
I just froze some corn today!! Only, I left it on the cob....I'd rather save time, not space;) I read a lot of instructions saying to boil it for 9 minutes....but I said "no way. 9 minutes = mushy corn" I would have preferred to do 3 minutes, but because this was my first time and there may be a chance these other bloggers may actually know what they're talking about, I decided to cook the corn at 5 minutes. After boiling the corn, I rinsed the ears with cold water to stop it from cooking any longer. I did one bag at 9 min. to see if there is a difference, good or bad.
ReplyDeleteNext batch, I will do three minutes and decide what I like best. I'm sure I will enjoy 3minute corn the best!! If you're anything like me, you cringe at the thought of your corn being cooked longer than 3minutes.