Don’t you just love this time of year when fresh-picked vegetables are plentiful? When I was growing up on our family’s farm in Tennessee, we planted a huge garden every year. Although I don’t remember enjoying the work of hoeing, planting corn and okra, or staking green beans and tomatoes, I sure have happy memories of eating what my Mamma fixed for dinner out of all that fresh-grown produce.
After I traded that life for college, to conquer the world of television, get married, and raise our son, any time I returned home to visit, my Mamma always knew that I would love it when she made my favorite meal. I actually had several favorite dishes which included her cornbread, pinto beans, and macaroni and cheese but at the top of my wish list was always her cream corn and fried okra with a side of sliced tomatoes. If we had meat, great. If not, I was good to go with all that veggie deliciousness.
Recently my husband and I made the long haul to Ormond Beach for a surprise birthday party for his Aunt Tabitha. She turned 90 and is as “sharp as a tack” as they say. It was a great visit with cousins for my husband, whose family went down to nearby New Smyrna Beach for many Thanksgivings.
On the way back we stopped, as we always do, at Mark’s Melon Patch in Dawson, Georgia. Mark Daniels and his family have been in business for 35 years and farm 90 acres to include watermelons, peanuts, sweet corn, tomatoes, okra, and much more. I must say they serve up some of the best homemade peach and strawberry ice cream I’ve ever tasted. And yes, after we pick out our produce, we never leave without a cup of that in hand. Forewarning, Dawson is below the gnat line and they are EVERYWHERE including your car as soon as you open the door. Still worth the stop!
Incidentally, when I was in high school we had a home economics project to complete a recipe card collection. As you can see, my Mamma’s recipe has been well used and well-loved over the years.
Ingredients and Directions:
- 6 ears of fresh sweet corn, cut kernels, and scrape
- Cook in cast iron skillet
- Add 1/2 cup water or more if you use 8 ears of corn
- Add 1 tsp of salt
- Bring to boil and cook until corn is done
- 1 Tbls. of butter (I no longer use the bacon or meat grease as a nod to healthier eating)
- Whisk together 1/4 cup of milk and a heaping Tbls. of flour and pour in skillet with corn
- Stir until corn thickens. More milk can be added if corn becomes too thick
A couple of days ago, I shucked that corn, cut off the kernels, and scraped the cob for the “milk.” I used my cast iron skillet to cook up a batch of cream corn, okra, and a side of sliced tomatoes. My husband whipped up some baked chicken with panko bread crumbs and seasonings. It was a meal fit for royalty for this southern girl and my Mamma would have been proud.
