Corn Recipes

2 small to medium ripe avocados, peeled, seeded, and finely diced
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
2 to 3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 to 1 teaspoon minced hot green chile peppers
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, gently combine avocado, corn kernels, tomatoes, lime juice, cilantro, chile peppers, and salt. cover and refrigerate until ready to be served.

Yields 1 1/2 cups.

Cutting corn off the cob - In a shallow bowl, hold ears of corn upright and, with a sharp knife, cut kernels from the cobs. Then with blunt edge of the knife, scrape juice from cobs. In a large pot with salt in the water, simmer corn, covered, 20 minutes, or until very tender. Remove from heat.
In a blender or food processor, purée soup in batches until very smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). As each batch is puréed, pour through a coarse sieve, pressing on solids, into a bowl.

In a large saucepan, heat soup, stirring. Thin soup to desired thickness with whole milk. Soup may be served hot or chilled.

Serve sprinkled with chives. NOTE: Soup may be made 3 days ahead and cooled, chilled, covered, and refrigerated.

Makes 6 servings (about 7 cups).

6 ears of fresh corn or 1 (12-oz.) can corn kernels, drained
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 eggs, well beaten
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2-quart casserole dish. If fresh corn is used, remove husk and silk, and cut kernels from cob.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt butter or margarine. Add onion and bell pepper and saute until tender; stir in flour and then add milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture has thickened and is smooth. Remove from heat; add corn, cheddar cheese, eggs, sugar, salt, and pepper.

Pour into prepared casserole dish and top with bread crumbs. Set into a shallow pan of hot water and bake 45 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings.