Corn Cake Stacks with Aged Cheddar and a tea cup bird feeder

The Farmers Market: Corn Cake Stacks with Aged Cheddar. With summer coming to an end, so goes the good Jersey corn. On Friday, I bought a few ears of bi-color Jersey corn at a farmers market in Chestnut Hill.

My recipe this week is a slightly modified version of the original from the Beekman Boys.  Where their recipe calls for 1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper, I swapped that out with 2 tablespoons of dried herbs and a generous shake of smoked sea salt.  These corn cakes were so delicious. They were light on the inside and perfectly crispy on the outside,  The melted cheddar was a really nice addition to finish the whole thing off. I had a stack of four with a spring mix salad for lunch but these could easily be a fantastic side dish too.

Corn Stack Cakes with Aged Cheddar
2 cups of fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
2 Tablespoons dried herbs (I use Litehouse Salad Herb Blend)
A generous shake of smoked sea salt
2 Tablespoons cornmeal
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs, separated
4 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups shredded aged cheddar

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In large bowl, mix together fresh corn kernels, dried herbs, smoked sea salt, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and egg yolks.
3. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold whites into corn mixture.
4.  In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Working in batches, drop the batter by scant 1/4 cup mounds into the hot oil.  Cook for 2 minutes per side or until golden brown.  Transfer to a baking sheet and repeat with remaining batter and olive oil.
5.  Divide cheddar evenly among corn cakes and bake for 1 minute, just until the cheese has melted. Remove from oven and serve.

The Find: a tea cup bird feeder. I recently found a nice stash of old and mismatched tea cups and saucers at a freecycle store.

My creative vision was clear: turn these into bird feeders. It was so simple, really. All I needed for this particular style of bird feeder was a 36 inch piece of 1/2" copper pipe, a copper pipe cap, some E6000, a tea cup and saucer., and a bag of bird seed. The cap gets glued to the bottom of the saucer. The tea cup gets glued to the top of the saucer. The copper pipe fits into the cap and the pipe gets placed in the ground like a stake.

Foolishly, I started this project believing that if I built it, the birds would come. Sadly, not one feathered friend has come to perch on my saucer. And I did hang out by the living room window obsessively looking for action. And action I did find. Just not in the form of birds. Instead, my tea cup bird feeder has become a regular establishment for pole dancing squirrels. Birds or no birds, I'm keeping the feeder where it is. Hell, watching the squirrels shimmy up the pole is excellent entertainment.