Chilly Today, Hot Tamale

I love tamales and I love to grow corn. However, in the small plot, corn isn't worth planting. It just takes up too much space. When I was a kid I loved how the Hopi's planted corn. They'd use a stick to dig holes in the ground and plant the seed in little mounds. There were always several seeds dropped in the hole together. And there'd be song and dance, too. Some special prayers to encourage a good crop. The planting was special, because it wasn't a given that a good crop would come. Once the crop had grown and the corn harvested, it was ground into flour between rocks and then baked into tortillas. I love this; I don't know why, I guess because it is so reverent. The corn was treated like a special friend.

So when I used to grow corn, I grew Candy Corn. It was very sweet and I loved it. I grew it in long rows. I had a good crop with big ears. Now I'm allergic to corn, well according to my naturopath, that is. I'm not so sure about this, but have been laying low where corn is concerned. I also have a wheat allergy; many folks suffer from these intolerances. I've heard that it is the way wheat is stored that makes it hard on the gut. There are molds that infest the grain as it is stored is silos. Whether or not this is true, I'm not sure. One thing I know for sure is that a lovely slice of homemade bread slathered with fresh strawberry jam is almost worth the reaction. Notice I said almost. Well, one can be satisfied by other things. Like spinach grown in the garden, or happy tomato plants. Or a tuxedo cat curling up next to me as I write in my blog. For more great shots see http://sidthetuxedocat.blogspot.com