a family affair

I visited my parents this weekend and now that I'm back, I'm stuffed... with great food. Those of you who know us know that I'm not the only one in my family who likes to try to new things in the kitchen (or on the grill), and this weekend was full of that. Keith and Russ picked sweet corn and got some ready for the freezer and I'm very excited about that. It's SO much better than canned or frozen store corn! They also made some corn relish, which turned out super good - I may post that on their behalf later when I have a picture of it. Keith also made ribs. And mom made Mexican corn. And what did I do? Not much. :)

So today, I'm posting on their behalf. First, the ribs. Keith had two racks of ribs and we (yes, I did help a little) rubbed them lightly with olive oil and then rubbed a mesquite seasoning on them, folded them each in tinfoil, and put them in the refrigerator until they were ready to be baked. I don't know all the details, but he baked them in the oven until they were pretty much done and then put them on the grill for 15-20 minutes. With the drippings that were there after baking, he made a barbecue sauce to put on them on the grill - so he did one with that and put Sweet Baby Ray's on the other. Long story short, they were awesome and I'm pretty sure he can give Sweet Baby Ray's a run for its money. If you want more details, let me know and I can ask him.

The other day Mom and I were talking about different ways to use all of this fresh sweet corn they have and she had mentioned finding this recipe that sounded really good. She modified it a bit and made it off-the-cob instead, and ended up with this:

Mexican Corn
4 cups fresh sweet corn
1/4 cup mayo
1/2 cup DiGiorno Three Cheese shredded blend (or Cojita or Parmesan)
1-2 jalapeno pepper(s), diced small - seeds removed

Cook corn on stove top; drain water when done. Add mayo, cheese, and pepper(s) - mix well and simmer until cheese is melted and you're ready to serve.

We really liked this. She didn't use the butter that it calls for in the recipe; it was rich enough as it was. Mom said the first time she made it, she used one pepper and it was good but that it could use a little more. I said "Have we met? More jalapeno?" Sometimes she surprises me -- like the other day when she told me she likes watching baseball. Again, have we met? :) But I digress. When she made the corn for us this weekend, she used two jalapenos (no seeds) and we thought it was just right. And it was a bonus that the corn and peppers were straight from garden/field at the farm.

Oh, and to top it all off - and I'm sorry I don't have a picture - Russ made potato salad with red potatoes planted out at the farm, too. And for dessert, I made mango bars (again). Lots of food. Fresh food. Great food.