On the verandah
Sitting on the verandah – with coffee in the morning – shucking the speckled corn so it can dry just a little further before we grind it into flour. This is one of the Indian corns an old heirloom corn, so I will be saving plenty of seeds too. It grew deep in my vegetable garden far from the maize that fills the fields.
Once dried and ground I will make it into tortillas and bread.
That will be interesting.
One hundred more bales of hay in the barn.
The New Zealanders are having a wonderful time.
Love celi
Weather: Beautiful for visitors from New Zealand.
Saturday 08/12 10% / 0 inSunny to partly cloudy. High 77F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night 08/12 20% / 0 inSome clouds. Low 54F. Winds light and variable.
32 Comments on “On the verandah”
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thekitchensgarden 
I thought of you this morning when I posted a wonderful passage from Wendell Berry on my blog, from an essay I’ve just recently read. I think you’ll enjoy it, and I suspect you’ll agree — despite everything!
Thank you – I shall pop over and have a look. c
My ex-girlfriend told me you couldn’t eat Indian corn so we just had it hanging up in our kitchen. I want to try making flour tortillas with it now… 🙂
I have been reading about that too but I kept thinking that it must have been grown as a food initially – and I have a hard time approving of using food for decoration – even a beautiful fruit bowl gets plundered. I will keep you posted. c
I looked it up when I saw your post yesterday – Wikipedia suggests it’s the oldest variety and edible and the preferred kind for making hominy.
hmm – now I have to look up hominy!
On reflection, I have had blue corn chips in America – they must be made with Indian corn.
So good for tortillas as well then: )
Yes, definitely!
I asked Chef google and it is called samp in our part of the world. Laura
I love hominy! Colorful hominy would be a treat.
We make flour from our “Indian corn” all the time. Delicious!
The corn is absolutely beautiful!!
What kind of grinder do you use? It’s beautiful. I always heard that Indian corn was not edible. I will have to check that out, where to get seed for it!
Lovely. Decorative and tasty. Win-win. What wonderful memories your New Zealanders will have to take with them. Not too much trouble to pack up. Enjoy.
The corn is a work of art, isn’t it?
Perfect days. 💕
What glorious coloured cobs, as far as I know ours only come in yellow or yellow and white. Looking forward to seeing the ground flour. Enjoy your weekend. Laura
Indian corn – beautiful and edible, just not tender like the yellow or white. It needs to be soaked, and slow cooked. Thanks for the photos – great one to put on a calendar or by itself!
That will make beautiful, multi colored, corn bread! 🙂
It just occurred to me — have you visited or seen photos of the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota? It’s quite a display, and is one of my earliest vacation memories — probably around 1950.
So glad you are enjoying your visit with folk from home. And the coloured corn is beautiful.
I used to love visiting my daughter in Ohio and we’d buy the multi-coloured and blue corn. Grandkids were just littlies then and we’d sit and shuck together. Daughter used to make flour then tortillas with it.
One year we grew Indian corn and sold the bunches. Good for you for drying it, grinding it and using it!! I am SUCH a ‘slug’ compared to all you do my friend! ; o )
That’s cool!! Didn’t know you could do that!
Those cobs are like jewels. Do they take something like a coffee grinder to reduce them to grits or flour once they’re dry?
Lucky NZ types to be there with you
A fascinating lesson for a totally ignorant bod re any kind of corn 🙂 ! Beautiful photo to go alongside. Differ from you as I have always used food items for decoration . . . nature thrills . . .
Okay, for all of those who’re suddenly thinking about using their “decorative” corn… Funny, I just always assumed they were peeled open like that so it could hang to dry (y’know, like one would do with garlic or onions; )
Here’s a really nice little piece about lime slaking and everything else you ever wanted to know about:
http://www.myhumblekitchen.com/2009/12/nixtamal-preparing-corn-for-tortillas/ (hominy, etc)
Can’t believe it’s that time already… It’s been such a strange one, summer never really seemed to arrive this year):): Beautiful photos. Have you ever seen “Glass Corn” C?
http://www.nativeseeds.org/community/199-the-story-of-glass-gem-corn-beauty-history-and-hope
On Nixtamalization, see in particular “effects on health”… : )
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization
Beautiful and I can see no reason why you should not eat it or the flour!
So pleased that your Kiwi visitors are having a great time. Love that heirloom corn 😃