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A Complaint

Alas, we are well into August. Every summer, I remain stunned by how quickly it creeps up on us. As I lament the passing of our last few weeks of August, I console myself with the fact that it’s also true summer runs until Saturday, Sept. 23, and, in the meantime, the sun, the rain, the soil, and our hardworking farmers will continue to provide glorious summer produce for our tables.

But, first, a complaint.

There’s this woman, I’ll tell you her name in a minute, who went on Facebook and complained about some corn she purchased at a local farmstand, calling out the farmer by name. That resulted in a barrage of complaints about the complainer. That she called out the farmer by name was considered particularly egregious. This farm stand is justifiably renowned near and far for the outstanding quality of its corn and, in fact, is revered for being one of the last few farms in this area that grows corn locally despite Connecticut’s short growing season and famously erratic springtime temperatures. And then came the complaints about those who were complaining about the complainer. I myself would like to complain about those who were complaining about those who were complaining about the original complainer.

Perhaps some sort of complaint flowchart might be useful, but instead, let me get to the point.

If you have a complaint about a local business, be it a farm or restaurant or dress shop or whatever, fair enough, complain away. To your family, to your friends, to the folks you meet at the next party (assuming that, since you are a complainer, you are invited to any parties). Better yet, take your complaint directly to the business owner, farmer, restaurant owner. If you don’t receive satisfaction, then get your corn somewhere else. And no matter where you buy corn, always pick up a few extra ears because they are works created by nature, not something punched out on an assembly line. You want perfect corn? Buy a can of corn, and revel in its nearly perfect mediocrity.

To complain and call out a hard-working and well-respected farmer in a public forum on Facebook that has thousands of members makes a person look petty when, in fact, maybe that complainer was just having a bad day and took it out on the farmer. So, no, I’m not really going to call the complainer out by name. Maybe, like me, she’s just sad about the end of summer coming, and she just wanted to complain.

Who knows? Here’s what I do know: there’s lots more Connecticut corn coming our way, and one of my favorite ways to eat it is with a compound butter of some sort. So here are two recipe-like guides for compound butters. Adjust to your liking. If you have any great recipes for corn, tomatoes, or any other end-of-summer produce, and you’d like to share them with our readers, I’d love to hear from you. Write me at p.mcnerney@shorepublishing.com.

Basil Chile Butter With Lemon

Ingredients

Put all the ingredient in a food processor and process until incorporated. Use on freshly grilled or steamed corn, on toast, on tomato sandwiches, with hot pasta. If you want it a bit more lemon-y, pour the lemon juice over it when serving. Can be stored for about a week in the fridge or about a month in the freezer.

Brown Sugar Butter

Adapted from a recipe on The Spruce Eats (https://www.thespruceeats.com/)

Ingredients

Place softened butter in a mixing bowl, add cream or milk, add brown sugar. Beat by hand or with a mixer until fully incorporated. Use on freshly steamed or grilled corn, or on toast with a sprinkle of cinnamon perhaps. Or maybe just take a swipe out of the container (when no one is looking!) and pop it in your mouth. Can be stored for about a week in the fridge or about a month in the freezer.

For more compound butter ideas, visit https://www.thespruceeats.com/top-corn-butter-recipes-336612.