This is Jada shucking corn for the first time. But she wasn’t in it for the corn, no, she was on a hunt… for worms!

My mother-in-law had visited the Farmer’s Market and was sweet enough to bring me a couple big bags of corn. Now, being the city girl that I am, I didn’t know exactly what to do with fresh corn, still in their husks. And the thought of coming across fat grub worms really didn’t excite me (quite the opposite actually). But I gratefully put them in my fridge to tackle later.

The next day Jada was driving me nuts ’cause she was bored-to-death, so my mother-in-law (over the phone) suggested that I have Jada help shuck some corn. What a brilliant idea! I said, “Jada, I have a surprise for you. Want to do a fun activity?” Of course she was overzealous as she exploded, “Yeah!! What is it? What is it?” I said in my most intriguing voice, “Do you want to have a worm hunt?”

Now Jada LOVES bugs. She could hunt for insects in the yard all day long. She especially loves digging for worms in my flower bed. I knew she would be thrilled at the idea of a worm hunt. She bounced up and down in her excitement and couldn’t wait to get started. I took a few ears of corn from the fridge and told her that underneath the husks of some of the corn, a little worm might be hiding. I said, “Now, we don’t know which corn has a worm in it. It’s a hunt. We have to find where they are hiding.” She was so ready!

It was really funny watching her sitting at her little table, determinedly yanking away at the husks until the corn was revealed. And every time she got enough husk away that she could see the golden kernels underneath, she would excitedly gasp, “Corn!” as though it was a surprise to see it under there. I had to laugh. But when she found a worm, oh how she exclaimed, “A worm! A worm! Mommy, I found a worm!!” I acted equally excited about the squirmy little invader, to humor her of course. I gave her a little plastic container to keep all of her “friends” in as she continued her hunt.

She sat at her table for an hour shucking corn. She was on a mission, and was determined to find every last worm. She shucked every ear of corn I had, 20 of them all by herself, and found just as many worms. I couldn’t believe how into the task she was, but I was ever so grateful to have occupied her! Once the corn was all cleaned up I had to call my mother-in-law back and ask her what to do with them now. I wanted to freeze them, but didn’t know if there was a certain procedure to follow. This is what she told me to do:

To Freeze Corn

*Shuck and clean, cutting off bad spots and stem; Wash.

*Cut kernels off the cob, as close to the cob as possible.

*Put corn kernels  into a pan with just enough water to cover.

*Bring to a boil; turn to low and cook 5 min.

*Let cool before packing into freezer bags; squeeze air from bags and seal.

And there you have it. We froze a bunch of corn, and Jada had a great time helping! Now I know exactly what to do the next time someone gives me fresh corn! Thanks Naynay!

If you don’t want to freeze the corn, and would rather have whole corn on the cob, all you have to do is boil the corn for about 5 minutes (once it’s been shucked and cleaned of course), and it will be ready to eat! Enjoy!