How far can $1 of corn go?

 

Last night i went to the grocery store. I like going to this particular grocery store only on Thursday night, after 8pm. Why is that you may ask? well, this grocery store is far beyond my budget, and although i would LOVE to shop there for everything i could imagine, it's just not feasible. Anyway...Thursday night after 8 the store is bustling with staff getting the displays ready for the beginning of tomorrow's flyer sales, and all of the product that may be expiring or not looking so super shiny and new, gets discounted to 50% off.  NOW i can afford to shop there!

I usually look for discounted meat (i freeze all my meat anyway), bread and even sometimes fresh produce. If you are careful, you can get through the store with only sale items in your cart, and not have to sell your first born child to pay for the grocery bill.

This particular day i discovered a rack with cobs of corn on them. packages of 5 cobs would end up costing me $1. not bad. they didn't look to shabby either. I ORIGINALLY bought it for our furry little guinea pig friend. I had heard that they liked corn and i decided to try it. well, he does NOT like corn, and i had 4 cobs left over. so, i decided to make some frozen corn. I blanched the peeled cobs in boiling water for 5 minutes, and then cut the kernels from the cob. ok. not bad. a bag of frozen corn for a dollar is a good deal right? BUT...what if i could do more?

The bare cobs reminded me of something. They reminded me that I had once been watching the Food Network (my favourite) and I had once seen one of my favourite chefs (Chef Michael Smith) make corn chowder, using the cobs of corn for a flavour base. LIGHTBULB!! so, i have taken the cobs, have put them back in the water that i originally had cooked the corn in (thankfully i had saved it) and am now simmering corn stock for future use this fall, as a kick ass base for a creamy, dreamy corn potato and bacon chowder. NOM!! I also threw in some stocks of celery from my fridge that have passed their prime, but i didn't consider that in my $1 price tag. Maybe i should have...ok...so, celery that would have been thrown away...uuuuummmmm.....05¢?

I will let you know how it turns out when i post a blog entry this fall or winter, posting a killer new chowder recipe. but for now i'll probably just freeze it and stare at it longingly till the weather turns cooler, and my tummy longs for warm, creamy soup.

Cheers!