I’ve always had an affinity for corn…
A truly profound draw to it.
I love the way it spirals up…
Encircling itself as it reaches for the sun…
Capturing the rain within its long outstretched leaves…
Strongly rooted…
Profoundly towering…
Swaying in the breeze, dancing in the wind.
The sounds, the smells, the sight of it all moves me like no other plant does.
It beckons me to check on it, care for it, tend to it daily as it slowly unfurls.
Blue corn, though, simply deepens that already profound affinity.
The colors, rich and piercing, in all of their shades and hues…
The anticipation of the harvest taunts me as I wait not-so-patiently to pull back the husks and unveil the blue jewels beneath.
Every . Single . Ear is opened like a gift…
Slow and steady so as not to rush the experience (or harm a single kernel).
And so, the blue corn harvest has begun, and I am beside myself with joy and excitement.
Each ear will be unwrapped and dried before removing each one of those lovely jewels from its cob and then ground into cornmeal and polenta.
And in the coming months, there will be copious amounts of corn bread and sweet breakfast (as well as savory dinner) polenta, atole and pancakes prepared and eaten.
If sweet corn is, in my heart, the dance of the summer’s sun bathed in a festive energy of abundance and delight…
Then blue corn is, deep in my soul, the sweet embrace of Mother Earth, holding me steady and offering me deep comfort through the coldest months while quietly reminding me of the bounty she holds within each and every kernel we have the privilege of pushing into the soil when the warmest months come around again.
And I am so grateful for all of it.
xoxo,
M
