recipe revisit/review: fried corn

i clipped this recipe from a magazine years ago, but i can't remember the magazine and therefore can't find a link to the specific recipe, so i'm typing it out here. also it'll be easier for me to find the recipe here since the clipping is so small that it tends to get lost in my recipe binder. i usually make this in the summer when corn is plentiful at the farmers markets. this recipe suggests canned corn as an alternative, but i haven't tried that out yet - maybe this winter.

Fried Corn
Makes 12 servings. (note: yeah, ok. never have i ever managed to get 12 servings out of this.)
Prep time: 15 minutes (another note: obviously your prep time may vary, especially if you're doing other things while cooking)
Cooking time: 20 minutes 

Ingredients:
5 cobs of corn or 4 cans of corn, drained
2 tablespoons canola oil
8 strips bacon, diced
3 chopped shallots, diced
1 tablespoon diced garlic
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoons organic honey
1/4 cup scallions, cut on a bias
Kosher salt and white pepper to taste 

Cut corn off the cob, or place canned corn in a bowl and set aside. In a medium sauté pan with the oil, slowly cook bacon until crispy. Remove bacon and half of the oil from the pan. Add the shallots, garlic and corn and sauté for 5 minutes. Add flour and chicken stock, cooking on low heat for 5 minutes. Mix in bacon and honey; cook for 2 minutes. Serve dish with scallions on top.

in tonight's version, i misread the quantity of scallions needed and went a bit overboard, but i'm hoping they'll mellow out a bit somehow. i used 6 cobs of corn and felt like i probably could've used 1-2 more. i'm thinking you could halve the oil, if not omit it altogether, and possibly skip having to drain as much oil when you remove the bacon. i have no idea how many garlic cloves i used and i'm pretty sure there were 10 slices of bacon left in the package i had in the fridge, so they all went into the skillet. aside from the overwhelming scallions, i'm pleased with how this turned out.

on: being a child-free woman of a certain age

I again faced a dilemma I’d been struggling with since turning 40: how to counter other people’s disbelief that I, single and child-free, could possibly be enjoying my own life.

i am so glad that this is not my dilemma. i read this nyt piece yesterday about a single woman in her 40s who, as far as i can tell, is living her best life right now. part of me can't believe that she encounters so many people who feel compelled to give unsolicited opinions on her marital and/or parental status (or lack thereof, i suppose).

yes, i occasionally come across someone, usually a stranger, who cannot believe that i don't have kids and have no desire to give birth. i am actually ok with being a 40-something single woman with no parental responsibilities. anyone who knows me relatively well knows that i have never felt the overarching desire for children. quite the opposite, really - i've known since i was a teenager that i didn't want to have kids of my own. being aunt(ie) eulalia is perfectly fine with me and has been for quite some time now.

this poor author, though. imagine being seated at a dinner next to someone you admire and having them tell you that you have a "terrible life." are you jealous, or just rude? (although i could be ok with getting a free steak out of the deal, if i'm being honest.)

My life is full of deeply meaningful relationships that go unrecognized when people tell me “not to worry.”

...If close relationships make people happy, as research suggests, I’m lucky, and grateful, to be inundated with those.

true. so very true. i'm so blessed to have the family i've created. y'all sustain me. you remind me of the differences between being alone and being lonely. basically, y'all are wonderful and amazing and i'm so glad none of you have said anything weird about my lack of progeny to my face because i might have to reconsider our whole relationship at that point.