Today is June 11
Published 7:30 am Friday, June 11, 2021
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Corn on the Cob Day
It’s June and in Louisiana that means sweet corn is ready to harvest! Farmer’s Markets, roadside fruit and vegetable stands, grocers and home growers are busy bringing in that beloved summer treat – fresh sweet corn. We get lots of calls and questions at the Rapides Extension Office regarding how to prepare and preserve it properly. Corn is so versatile and can be used in a huge variety of dishes, my personal favorite is on the cob and straight to the grill. If you want to put some away for later use, here is how you go about freezing it:
Freezing Corn
- Preparation – Select only tender, freshly-gathered corn in the milk stage. (Milk stageoccurs about 20 days after silking as kernels develop a buttery yellow color and are full ofmilkywhite fluid.) Shuck and trim the ears, take care to remove all silks, then wash.
- Corn-on-the-cob – Blanch small ears (1¼ inches or less in diameter) 7 minutes, medium ears (1¼ to 1½ inches in diameter) 9 minutes and large ears (over 1½ inches in diameter) 11 minutes. Cool promptly and completely in an ice water bath to prevent an “off” taste. Drain, pat dry and package. Seal – remove as much air as possible and freeze.
- Whole Kernel Corn – Blanch 4 minutes. Cool promptly and completely in ice water bath, drain and cut from cob. Cut kernels from cob about 2/3 the depth of the kernels. Package, leaving ½-inch headspace. Seal and freeze.
- Cream Style Corn – Blanch 4 minutes. Cool promptly and completely in ice water bath; drain and pat dry. Cut kernel tips and scrape the cobs with the back of a knife to remove the juice and the heart of the kernel. Package, leaving ½-inch headspace. Seal and freeze.
(Adapted from “So Easy to Preserve”, 6th ed. 2014. Bulletin 989, Cooperative Extension Service, The University of Georgia, Athens. Revised by Elizabeth L. Andress. Ph.D. and Judy A. Harrison, Ph.D., Extension Foods Specialists.)
For step-by-step instructions on how to blanch various types of vegetables, visit this helpful link from the National Center for Home Food Preservation: Freezing/Blanching
We have also provided a wonderful recipe for Sweet Corn Relish!
For more information on home food preservation, please call the Rapides Parish Extension Office of the LSU AgCenter at 318-767-3968. You may also email Area Nutrition Agent, Quincy Vidrine at qvidrine@agcenter.lsu.edu.
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Storage/display opportunities: In furniture, along walls and in hidden places
(MS) – Finding more space to store and display all the “stuff” used for day-to-day living, as well as life’s pleasures, can be an adventure that ends with everything in its perfect place. Woodcraft can help you with a few ideas to kick-start your space hunt and then suggestions for tools and supplies to make your storage projects successful.
Small tables with enclosed storage underneath, chests and trunks that provide seating, benches with built-in storage, beds with built-in space underneath or in the headboard, and kitchen islands with concealed nooks are all options to manage “stuff.”
In the kitchen, add drawers to the space (toe-kick) beneath lower cabinets to store rarely used items. Shelving and bookcases, either built-in or freestanding/open or enclosed, will transform unused wall areas or sections of large closets into instant storage for a wide range of items. Nooks cut out of the wall and covered by pictures offer one of many concealed storage options that also include nooks or drawers in the sides of enclosed staircases.
The ideas for storage and display projects are endless and can be found through Internet searches and on Woodcraft.com in books like “Stanley Built-Ins & Storage” by David Schiff, in the Woodcraft blog, and in free videos and articles.
Plan for Painting Up Front
“When choosing where to develop storage and display space, you have the opportunity to rethink the colors in rooms where changes will be made,” Woodcraft Public Relations Manager and blogger Lori Harper said. “By using paint in building, buying or repurposing storage pieces, you can change or supplement an existing color palette.”
Woodcraft stocks a wide selection of finishing and paint products, including the versatile General Finishes Milk Paint, General Finishes Flat Out Flat Topcoat, Black Dog Salvage Furniture Paint, and Black Dog Salvage Guard Dog and Show Dog Topcoats.
Building Made Easy
Pocket-hole joinery is a quick, easy way to join wood pieces for building projects. Kreg makes it simple with a pocket-hole jig for every application to create very strong joints. Check out Festool’s CXS Compact Drill Driver Set for drilling pocket holes and adding pocket screws, as well as handling other day-to-day drilling and driving challenges with comfort. Tight spaces, dark spots, and corners are no match for it.
For projects that require using nearly invisible fasteners, the industrial strength Grex 23-gauge Headless Pinner leaves only the tiniest of entry holes, making it ideally suited for finishing work, detailed woodworking, light wood assembly, decorative trim, dowel and joint pinning, and picture frame assembly. To provide air pressure for the pinner, Rolair’s JC10PLUS Compressor is a good choice. The oilless machine features a 1 HP, single-stage, two-cylinder motor/pump and a stainless steel reed valve that runs on low RPM for optimum quiet operation.
Building drawers is easy with the Kreg Drawer Slide Jig that supports drawer boxes while mounting slides to the drawer. The jig works with ball-bearing, epoxy-coated, and undermount slides for perfect positioning every time. Whether you’re boring shelf pin holes in a new entertainment center or adding adjustable shelving in an existing cabinet, the Kreg Shelf Pin Jig will help you get the job done quickly and accurately. The Kreg Cabinet Hardware Jig makes it easy to install knobs and pulls on drawers and doors.
Shortcuts & Safety
To save time when building drawers, check out the Ready-to-Use Prefinished Birch Drawer Sides at Woodcraft.
For some really made-to-order storage units, use WoodRiver Cubby Cube Connectors. Available in three configurations – cross-brackets, T-brackets or L-brackets -these handy connectors allow for quick and easy construction of multiple cube storage using 3/4″-thick material in any size you need.
Protect your ears while using power tools with ISOtunes Professional Noise Isolating Earbuds – OSHA-approved hearing protection and Bluetooth technology so you can connect to a smartphone and listen to music. If protection is all you need, consider the Pyramex BP 3000 Banded Earplugs.
To learn more about these and other products, visit your local Woodcraft store, call (800) 535-4482 or visit www.Woodcraft.com
