Farm Days

I didn't realize how spoiled I was with fresh fruits and vegetables until I moved away from York.  There is just nothing that compares with the good ole B-N-V!  It's hard to pick a favorite, but peaches are way up there on the list.  I never even buy peaches from the grocery store because they don't compare.  So last time I went to York, I came back with lots of peaches so decided to freeze some (works great for cobblers, on top of ice cream or pound cake, fruit salad).  All you have to do to freeze peaches is peel, slice, add a little bit of sugar, and bag them.

Fresh corn on the cob comes in a close second place on the list of favorites.  Growing up freezing corn every summer never seemed out of the ordinary to me, just like watching cows be killed for beef never seemed unusual...I apologize to my elementary classmates and teachers who had to put up with me bringing cow parts in a cooler to school!  Anyway, that's another story entirely.  The corn freezing process begins with shucking between 20 and 40 dozen ears of corn.  The cows have an amazing nose for corn- they literally run through the pasture to the truck to eat the shucks (and to try to sneak a few full ears of corn).  Rob got to experience the whole process this year, and he couldn't believe how the cows devoured the corn shucks.  The second step is to wash all the silks off the corn- we used to use brushes, but now we just rub them off with our hands under the hose outside- it works just as well.  After the corn is washed, then it is put in a huge pot of boiling water for about 8 minutes.  Immediately after it's taken out of the pot, it is plunged in a cooler of ice/ice water for about 10 minutes.  Then comes my favorite part- cutting the corn off the cob.  This was probably my favorite job because it meant sneaking a few bites of corn. :)  The last step is to bag the corn in Ziplock bags and put it in the freezer. Those who have had this kind of frozen corn can testify that it is AMAZING!  There's just no comparison.

Rufus got caught sneaking a few bites of corn.  Rob's job was to cook then cool the corn- he fit right in!

*Disclaimer: it does take all morning and you're very sticky afterward, but it's worth it!

Rob is very quickly becoming a country boy...proof seen in the following pictures.  Daddy decided that Rob needed to learn how to drive a tractor before our engagement could go any further, which of course Rob had no problem with.  He was like a kid in a candy shop...he just doesn't know what kind of work he's getting himself into now that he's learned to plow. ;)