After a busy day at work and riding my bike home, I was tired. E was out. I was going to make bangers and mash that he usually makes each week. Yet the thought of making mashed potato was too much effort. On impulse I made some microwave popcorn. Then I checked my bookmarks and found a recipe for
Caramelised Corn with Mint.
A warm spring day, a break from routine, and the holiday smell of popcorn made us giddy and light. Sylvia and I danced and ran out to the backyard to pick mint. I spoke to the neighbour about flat tyres on her bike. We threw a rug on the loungeroom floor and had a picnic dinner on the floor. We made lizards and caterpillars out of our food. We fed Sylvia's dollies (new dolly and her new companion, Peppa Pig) and played with the rabbit in a carrot.
All this merriment was topped off by watching Billy Bragg on
Q and A. I would have loved to see him while he has been in Melbourne, but am just not organised enough. Instead, I was very pleased to see him singing
Ideology live on the telly. (The same sort of pleasure as standing around a colleague's computer at work cheering at our Prime Minister Julia Gillard's
Misogyny speech.)
The corn with mint was wonderful. So simple, so quick and so delicious. I ate it with vegie sausages and chopped salad vegies. It was all I needed for dinner. I am sure I will make this side dish again. Yet I am not sure it will ever again be as much fun.
Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago:
VT Pepper-Crusted Cashew Goat Cheese
Two years ago:
Potato and Kale Enchiladas
Three years ago:
Spring vegetable and lentil chowder
Four years ago:
Green Spring Salads
Caramelised corn with mint
serves 1 as a side dish
knob of margarine or butter (between 1 tsp and 1 tbsp)
kernels of 1 cob of corn
handful of mint leaves, chopped
pinch of French lavendar salt (or sea salt)
Melt butter on frypan over medium heat. Fry corn for about 10 minutes or until starting to brown and popping. Add mint and salt. Stir briefly and remove from heat. Eat hot. (Probably would be yummy at room temperature too.)
On the Stereo:
LoveBUZZ: Hummingbirds
This post is part of
Vegan Month of Food October 2012. Go to
my Vegan MoFo list for more of my Vegan MoFo posts.
What a delicious dinner! I love love how Dolly is very much a part of your family and this blog :) so sweet.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nupur - Sylvia loves to have a dolly with her
DeleteCorn doesn't usually enthuse me but as I enjoyed it with basil recently, I really like the sound of this. Your picnic dinner in the lounge room sounds like a fun idea! At least you will have the memories of this night next time you go back to making this dish.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mel - I love corn - could eat it every day so this was fantastic for me, and yes the picnic was fun
DeleteWhat a fun dinner Johanna - and a great brightening up of what could have been a tired, ho-hum evening! I think we all need to dance and eat a picnic dinner sometimes. This looks like just the food for it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kari - dancing and picnics are good for the soul - though it is easier to enjoy when I have more energy and the computer seems fine :-)
DeleteI have made this several times too Johanna - it's a lovely little recipe and gives a great return for not a lot of effort (p.s enjoy your Spring - it's all autumn leaves over here in England)
ReplyDeleteThanks Sophie - it is a perfect meal for spring because my mint is going crazy and this is a great way to use it - glad you enjoy this dish too
DeleteSounds easy and devine! I've never been a big corn eater in the past but now that I live in a very multicultural quarter (meaning an abundancy of Middle Eastern food stores that sell a variety of seasonal produce) I've bought fresh corn on the cob a couple of times and cooked them and nibbled of the kernels. Yum! :D Unfortunately the season is over now, otherwise I could have made this with fresh corn. Now I can only buy tinned. :( The mint also sounds interesting, it's probably the herb I've gotten used to the least so far. I find it tricky to use with food and most often it ended up as tea. The hubby likes to make cucumber mint yoghurt though and pour that over lentils, because the mint is so fresh.
ReplyDelete