Happy official summer, friends! It’s a much anticipated time here in Minnesota and man can we embrace it. Lakes for days. Warmth. Homegrown produce. BBQs. Patios. Late bedtimes. Smores over a bonfire. Sandy shoes. And CORN.

Let’s just get something straight, for starters.  I love Minnesota.  Living here is perfect for myself and my family.  But I am a gosh darn Iowa girl..and proud of it.  18 wonderful years of my life were spent in Iowa and aside from Hawkeye football…and pork…and so many other fabulous things….that place reigns supreme for homegrown corn.  There’s just nothing like it.  We ate it so often in the summers…and there were always farmers selling it out of the back of their trucks along the sides of the roads.  Hows that for fresh?

So now, during the summer months, we indulge in our fair share around here…because, well, it just seems right.  I mean what could taste better than a sweet, perfectly cooked ear of corn doused in butter and sprinkled with salt?  Well, you want the truth?  This Mexican Street Corn could.  My favorite corn to date.  I die.

 But this Butter, Lime + Parmesan version comes in at a pretty darn close second place. It’s the most random of ingredients, I know.  But sometimes I get started in the kitchen and I keep going.  And adding.  And changing my mind.  It’s a problem.  And that’s exactly what happened with four ears of corn in my kitchen just recently.

My plan was to simply boil the corn and have it with butter and salt.  But it felt boring that night…and I needed some new blogging material, to boot.  What if I added a little grated parmesan cheese?  The kids would love that!  Plan changed: add parmesan.

And then, as I was boiling the corn, Georgia chimed in, “Mommy, why don’t you ever cut the corn off anymore?”.  Enter: guilt.  And a different direction for the recipe.  Plan changed: cut it off the cobb.

So when the corn came out of the hot boiling water I cut it off the cobb and tossed it in butter and parmesan and seasoned it with sea salt and black pepper.  Delish.  But not perfection.  It needs some acid to go with that sweet and sharp.  Plan changed:  add lime juice.  SO GOOD.

 But wait…what about cilantro?  Because lime juice and cilantro are totally married, right?  Plan changed:  add cilantro.  PERFECTION.

So yummy, guys.  And look at that tiny little list of ingredients!  Success!

Butter, Lime + Parmesan Corn

Ingredients

4 Ears Corn

1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter, softened

Juice of 1 Large Lime

1 Tablespoon Grated Parmesan

2 Tablespoons Roughly Chopped Cilantro

Sea Salt + Black Pepper, to taste

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.  Add corn and cook for 5 minutes or until just tender.  Remove from water and slice the kernels off the ears of corn.  Place butter in a medium sized bowl, add the corn and toss until butter is melted.  Add lime, parmesan, cilantro and salt + black pepper, to taste.  Serves 4 as a side.