by Lisa Giroday, Sandra Lopuch and Sam Philips | Corn cakes, corn salad, corn chowder, corn salsa, corn bread, and so on – corn is one of the staple foods of the world, not to mention a source of bio-fuel. Maize (the Spanish and widely used word for corn) was originally cultivated by the Olmec and Mayan peoples, beginning as early as 7000 BC throughout Mesoamerica.

These days, with corn being genetically modified all over the place (otherwise known as Transgenic maize), growing your own old heritage varieties and bringing it back to the simple life can be super rewarding. Interested? Check back with us in mid-May or so next year.

For the time being, enjoy the corn harvest and, as well as eating it grilled off the BBQ, try making some simple corn soup with a garnish of cilantro, basil, chili oil, garlic butter, or what have you. Corn soup is so very underrated. Freshly picked corn has a tendency to lose a lot of sugars if left too long on the counter, so make it ASAP!

Simple Corn Soup (feeds 6 peeps)

2 tbsp butter, unsalted
1 diced onion
4 1/2 cups water
5 ears of delicious, freshly picked corn with kernels cut from cob
s&p to taste
Garnish – cilantro, chili oil, garlic butter, you be the judge

Melt butter in a soup pot, add onion and ¼ cup water. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the rest of the water and bring to a boil. Add the corn kernels and simmer for 5 minutes. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor, then sieve into a pot. Add the s&p, then heat, serve, and garnish. Bon appetit!

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Victory Gardens is a team of local urban farmers for hire. Lisa, Sandra and Sam help transform tired or underused residential and commercial green spaces into food producing gardens. Their goal is to challenge the way communities use space and to participate in the change needed to consume food more sustainably. For the rest of the growing season, they’ve hooked up with Scout to share some cool tips and tricks on how to get the best from of our own backyards.