Last week when I posted, I told you all about my adventures with corn on the cob!  Well, maybe not all, because I have a couple more things to share with you about corn.  Today, it is going to be about these delicious Fresh Corn Griddle Cakes that I made for my husband and I! If you like pancakes, you will love these even more.  The flavor is sweet and delicious and we topped them with honey butter which made them even better! 

      When we ate them, it was kind of a breakfast for dinner night.  We paired them with scrambled eggs and some of my Canned Cinnamon Apple Rings.  (click the link for that recipe!) It was definitely a comfort food that hit the spot! 
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     If you have fresh corn to use up, you will probably also have the rest of the ingredients for this recipe because they are mostly kitchen staples.

• An ear of Fresh Corn-Mine was an ear that had been cooked but not eaten the night before.  You can use an ear that hasn't been cooked or one that has been blanched or roasted.  They will all work. Just cut the kernels off of the cob with a sharp knife.  
• Honey-the flavor of honey goes so well with corn!  Plus, it has a lower glycemic index than sugar which is good since corn is already a starchy vegetable containing carbs.  But, it is considered a low glycemic vegetable.  Keeping that glycemic count low is important! 
• Butter
• Cornmeal-Although cornmeal has a higher glycemic index than corn itself, it does contain many nutrients and fiber.  
• All Purpose Flour
• Buttermilk-Buttermilk adds to the lift of your pancakes and also adds to the flavor! 
  
• Whole Milk

     The best way to cook griddle cakes is on a cast iron griddle or in a cast iron skillet.  
Heat the griddle and spray with cooking spray or use butter.  
Pour the batter onto a hot griddle into circles the size that you would like. 
Watch the griddle cake to see the bubbles form.  These cakes are tender, so flip them carefully when you see the top covered with bubbles.  Cook until they are golden brown on both sides.  

      I grew up out in the country on 3 acres of land.  I was #6 of 7 kids and I loved my big family and living out in those wide open spaces.  One of my earliest memories was the year that we planted our front 2 acres in corn!  We had a bumper crop and we put up a roadside stand where we sold corn 12 ears for $1.00.  You can imagine that at today's prices, it is difficult for me to purchase corn at .50-.60 cents per ear, or more.  Not to mention that the corn isn't even very fresh! 
     Living in the city like I do, growing corn isn't really a smart choice because one stalk will produce 1 or maybe two ears if you're lucky, and for the amount of space that I have to plant in, that isn't a big return on all of the water it takes to grow it.  Plus, corn pollenates better in a large field.  I have grown corn in my backyard, but it takes a lot of shaking of the stalks for pollination on my part, plus a lot water for a small return.   That's how I feel about it anyway, even though I do love corn on the cob.  
      Because of my love for corn on the cob, I keep my eyes peeled for sales and opportunities to buy it at a lower price.  This past week, my local wholesale produce place didn't do me wrong!  I was able to get corn for about .25 per ear.  I mean, it wasn't 12 for $1.00, but I think those days are long gone and the price was far better than I've seen in a long time.  (And bonus, my corn came in a nice, heavy duty plastic crate!)

      We had family over to celebrate a couple of birthdays and we filled up on great food, including corn on the cob!  Afterwards, I had lots of fresh corn left to process.  As much as I enjoy canning, corn tastes much better when it is preserved by freezing it.  The great thing is that you can freeze the ears whole, sealing them in air-tight food saver bags.  You can also cut the corn off of the cob and freeze it that way as well.  Here is the process: 

     I envy those of you who are able to grow your own corn and have a bumper crop to store for the year ahead! Have you preserved corn this way or do you have a more preferred method?  Also, has anyone every parched corn?  We are drying some of ours to give that a try.  I'll report the results.

      Here are some other posts about corn that you may enjoy! 

      July is the perfect time of year to have a National Ice Cream Day! 
      Around our house, we have really been into Ice Cream this year.  Alicia and I both scored a good price on the Kitchen Aid Ice Cream attachment and we have been using them to our full advantage! I'm afraid my scale reflects that.  But, I can't really think of a better treat or dessert that ice cream, no matter what time of the year it is. 
       With that in mind, I decided to help you celebrate this particular Ice Cream Day with a round up of our ideas and recipe that deal with Ice Cream.  I hope it helps to cool you off a bit, just looking at this creamy indulgence. 

     Earlier this year, I purchased these galvanized planter boxes to increase the size of my garden.  I intended to put in a bunch of tomatoes and beets, etc. that would grow into early summer.  But, Baby Sebastian decided to make his appearance a bit early, so I flew off to Georgia to help out Alicia, so the garden didn't happen.  Although, while I was away my husband did put the boxes together for me so that they would be ready to go when I was. 
     I hated to see those empty planter boxes just sitting there, but I knew it would be too hot to plant tomatoes or beets at that point.  We have to have our summer gardens in by the end of February! I thought to myself, "Surly there is something that I can plant that will grow during the summer!"  And guess what!  I found something!  Armenian Cucumbers are heat loving plants that grow long, tasty, green fruit that you can eat alone or pickle!   And, since I am on a pickling kick, they sounded perfect for me to plant in at least one of my new planters! 
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     The seeds I ordered may have been duds, because I planted about 10 of them, and only one ever sprouted!  Now that I see how large the plant is growing, that may have been a blessing in disguise! 
      You can almost see the plant growing! I have been training it up on a trellis that I was going to use for peas!  The instructions I've read online told me that training them up on a trellis works great and the fruit will hang until you harvest them.  These cucumbers grow very long! The plant is taking over my 4x4 box, so you can imagine that if 10 of them had come up, I would have had a forest on my hands! 

     It didn't take long for the plant to be covered in the small yellow flowers.  I was just out there yesterday, checking it over to see if there was any pollenating going on, but only saw male flowers.  Then, today, my husband went out before I did and came in and asked me if I had seen the cucumber growing on my plant.  I figured it had to be small because I hadn't seen anything the day before.  Well, it must have been hiding from me, because look what I found today! 

     Today, I also noticed some small female flowers that look promising!  I see salads and pickles in my future! 

     Have you tried growing Armenian Cucumbers? So far, they seem like a pretty easy crop, (as long as you get seeds that will sprout! ) 
      Oh! As far as my other garden box goes, we are currently composting in it until it is time to put in the  Fall garden! 
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     These watering spikes have been a life saver in my garden and I consider them a must have item!  I can leave my garden for a couple of days with these scattered throughout and they keep it watered until I get back to it! Perfect for small gardens and pots.