Be Corny!

Let's get corny! Spring has sprung and the growing season has begun! Here at Southern Garden Tools, we are getting calls from customers ordering our EZ Creamer Corn System-- and easy corn cutter that utilizes a drill to remove corn kernels easily-- whole kernel and cream-style. So what a more fitting time than to discuss the types of corn and just how this delicious barbecue staple is beneficial to its devouring fans!



The varieties of corn is nearly unlimited but they can be categorized into six basic types. While sweet corn is what lands on our plates for its sweet, low starch taste, dent corn-- named for the dimple present on the kernel-- accounts for 99% of US corn production. Bland and starchy compared sweet corn, it is used for feeding livestock, making corn syrup, and producing industrial products. Popcorn kernels are another popular corn type-- popping up in theaters and homes everywhere.

Besides being delicious, corn has many healthy benefits. Packed with dietary fiber and protein, this power food also packs a mineral punch with 32% of our daily magnesium requirements. Consumption of this golden goodie has health benefits including boosting your immune system and increasing bone strengths. So chomp these niblets!

Hope you enjoyed our quick primer on corn. Head on over to EZ Cream Corn Cutting System
to check out our corn cutting system that has the drill doing all the work for you!

A Handful of Nuts a Day to Keep the Dr Away?

It is no secret that nuts are awesome for you. The list of benefits just keeps going. I am coming in contact with an alarmingly increasing number of people who have go Gluten Free or with heart disease, bad cholesterol, and obesity. I don't say alarming because it is odd, but alarming because of the expanse of it. A lot of this can be helped and controlled with our diet. I know I would rather eat a handful of nuts over a handful of medication if I could choose. Nuts are chock full of antioxidants, fiber, unsaturated fat, etc. Here are a few of our favorite nuts and how they can help you. These benefits are most beneficial when eating them raw.

Walnuts:

Do you have problems with inflammation? Arthritis, gout, simply a  pulled muscle. Put away the Ibuprofen and grab Walnuts. They are the original anti-inflammatory because they are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. Along with that, you will reap the benefits of the antioxidants, which Walnuts proudly have the most of all nuts, that helps protect your body against premature aging, heart disease, and cancer. Ladies can also put away the Midol and grab Walnuts instead. The manganese they contain can help reduce PMS symptoms.

 

Pecans:

We are located in the deep South and Pecans are a staple here, especially in pie, but to reap the rewards of pecans, try them right out of the shell. Pecans are super rich in antioxidants and are amazing for your heart health. They help prevent plaque formation in your arteries. The vitamin E found in Pecans have the potential to delay the progression of ALS as well.

Brazil Nuts:

These are some of my personal favorites. One package of raw Brazil nuts contain 100% of the daily value of mineral selenium, which may help safe guard against certain cancers like bone, prostate, and breast cancer. A recent study in the Journal of Medicinal Food has linked the selenium found in Brazil nuts with soy as a potential prostate cancer fighter by inhibiting the growth of cancerous cells. Be careful though because too much of a good thing can be a not so good thing. High levels of selenium can be harmful, so stick to a serving size or less.

Hazelnuts:

Besides a great flavoring for coffee or being paired with chocolate, Hazelnuts are rich with monounsaturated fats, which are great for cardiovascular health and to help manage type 2 diabetes. They are also healthy in vitamin E, which will help you maintain healthy skin, hair, and nails and could help prevent cataracts, macular degeneration, and the risk of dementia.

Almonds:

Gut issues? Enjoy Almonds then as they contain the most fiber out of all the nuts at roughly 3grams per ounce. They are also very rich in vitamin E, aid in weight loss, and lower bad cholesterol. Who would have known that this tasty nut can make you feel and look so good?

Grab a handful of your favorite nuts or even try some new ones and enjoy the benefits of them. If you have your own nut trees, we can even help you with that gathering and cracking over at our website, www.855sheller.com/. We have everything from Nut Wizards to make gathering them from the ground a breeze, to electric pecan crackers  to make your pecan cracking and shelling easy, to  hard shelled nut crackers to tame even the hardest nut, and even traditional nut crackers.

Unless you have a nut allergy, then don't be nut free!

Mexican Corn Salad

 Mexican Corn Salad

 

Fresh corn is such a delightful treat. When I was looking for variety from the standard corn on the cob, corn off the cob, and creamed corn, I came across this refreshing recipe. Mexican Corn Salad is a great addition to any BBQ, taco night, or just as a different side item. I couldn't seem to get enough of this savory dish when I made it and I hope you love it too. Following recipe as found on the Schwans website.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups sweet corn kernels
• ½ cup diced red pepper
• ½ cup diced green pepper
• ½ cup diced red onion
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 1 cup crushed chili cheese corn chips

Directions:

1. Combine corn, peppers, onions, mayo, and cheese.
2. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chilled.
3. Stir in crushed chips right before serving.

I like to make this dish ahead and wait until I am ready to serve it before adding the corn chips. The crunch they provide is wonderful. When I make this dish, my Progressive Food Chopper gets quite the work out. It makes prep so simple and easy while saving me time. You can use canned corn if you prefer, I have in a pinch, but fresh corn really stands out in this dish. For my ears of corn I use my EZ Chopper board to cut the ends of the ear off before I husk it. I use a cute little de-silker brush to remove all the silk, and then use my Lee's Corn Cutter to remove all the kernels of corn. It sure beats using a knife to remove all of those kernels. A few swipes of the ear and it is clean of kernels. All of these items can be found on our website at www.lawn-gardening-tools.com or www.855sheller.com. I can't wait to hear what you think of this dish.

Pecan Cookie Recipe

Did You Know? 

September 21 is National Pecan Cookie Day

It is no secret that we love Pecans here! We sell all sorts of nutcrackers and Nut Wizards to make gathering, cracking, and shelling them a breeze, but what will you do with them after that? There are endless possibilities. We love to add them into candies, pies, breads, and, of course, cookies. In honor of National Pecan Cookie Day we want to share this recipe from Martha Stewart that is simple and we enjoy.

Butter Pecan Cookies

From: MarthaStewart.com

These delicate, buttery cookies, which get their crunchy texture from toasted pecans and a sugar coating, practically melt in your mouth. Makes 12.

3/4 cup pecans
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar, plus more for coating
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a baking sheet, toast pecans until fragrant, about 6 minutes. Let cool completely; finely chop.

With an electric mixer, cream butter and 1/3 cup sugar until light, about 1 minute. Beat in vanilla, salt, and flour, scraping down sides of bowl, just until dough comes together. Fold in pecans.

Separate dough into 12 pieces; squeeze dough to shape into balls. Roll in sugar. Place, 3 inches apart, on a baking sheet. Gently flatten with the bottom of a glass (reshape sides if necessary). Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake until golden brown, rotating sheet halfway through, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with more sugar. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

These little cookies will just melt in your mouth! To chop our toasted Pecans, we use a Nut Chopper. In no time we have all the chopped pecans we could ever want. You can find the chopper on  

www.lawn-gardening-tools.com

If you need help gathering your harvest of Pecans, check out

 www.855sheller.com 

 for all of your nutcracker and nut gathering needs.

Enjoy National Pecan Cookie Day and let us 

know what kind of cookies you made!

Happy National Peanut Day! September 13

 National Peanut Day

No secrets here, we LOVE nuts! A secret you may not know is that we are located in the heart of Peanut country! Our city is actually known as the Peanut Capital of the world! We have a festival every year with pageants and a parade as well. We LOVE peanuts! To celebrate National Peanut Day, I want to share some of our fun landmarks with you and a little peanut trivia!

Our town came together and put special landmarks all over the area. They are fun ways to represent and remember area events. You will notice that they are all giant painted peanuts!

Those are just a few of the more than 60 painted nuts around town. If you ever visit, you should see how many you can snap a photo with.

Did You Know?

• There are enough peanuts in one acre to make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches.
• Peanuts are the #1 snack nut consumed in the U.S., accounting for two-thirds of the snack nut market.
• Two peanut farmers have been elected president of the USA – Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter.
• Astronaut Alan Shepard brought a peanut with him to the moon.
• Rumor says that there’s enough mental stimulation in one peanut to produce 30 minutes of serious thinking. That may or may not be true, but peanuts are a good source of protein and the B vitamins, nutrients that help prevent “brain fatigue”.

 Let me share a well loved recipe with you for Peanut Brittle. Simple and easy...as well as a Southern favorite.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups shelled raw peanuts
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Preparation:

1. Microwave first 3 ingredients in a 2-quart glass bowl on HIGH 5 minutes, using an 1100-watt microwave oven. (Microwave 1 more minute if using a 700-watt microwave.)
2.  Stir in peanuts. Microwave 3 more minutes in an 1100-watt oven (add 1 more minute in 700-watt oven)
3.  Stir in butter and vanilla. Microwave 45 seconds in an 1100-watt oven (add 1 more minute in 700-watt oven) or until candy is the color of peanut butter.
4.  Stir in baking soda (mixture will bubble). Working quickly, spread hot candy in a thin layer onto a lightly greased baking sheet using two metal forks.
5. Cool completely and break into pieces.

I prefer my peanuts to be chopped up and I use a Food Chopper to do that. If you plant your own peanuts and want a little help harvesting them, then we have a handy bag that frees up both hands for you called the Gardener's Hollow Leg.

  Both of these products and so much more can be found right on our website www.lawn-gardening-tools.com