I'm as corny as Kansas in August.

Summer is here!, originally uploaded by Mandee - IThinkYouShould.

Farm to table is nothing new in my world. My grandfather had a farm, and I never miss it more than during corn season. He always filled the field across the street from their house with corn - "just for you", he'd tell me. I think that was the only thing that got me out of my ham, potato chips, and orange Hi-C rut.

The key is to pick the freshest corn you can. My favorite source is the old men who pull their pick up trucks up to our local farmers market on Saturday mornings. Most people line up for the tomato guy, but you can find me with the corn men when they ring the bell at 8am. If you can get it fresh enough, raw corn is really like candy.

Silver Queen is my favorite (I'm still kicking myself for not stopping when I saw a sign in Northern Florida on the way back from the beach Memorial Day weekend), but the most important characteristic is freshly picked.

When I hit the jackpot, I like to eat it raw. I'll slice it off the cob with my chef's knife. You'll read lots of different ways to do it most efficiently, but I just keep it simple: stand it on end in a bowl big enough to catch the flying kernels and go to town. You'll want to get close enough to the cob that you get some of the delicious corn "milk," too.

Once you have that bowl of summer goodness, use your imagination. Yesterday, I added cherry tomatoes, avocado, salt and pepper and topped my flank steak with it. Another favorite is tomatoes, a little white wine vinegar, olive oil, goat cheese and basil.

Of course, if you gamble and lose in the freshness category, just boil a big pot of water and drop it in there for only a few minutes. If it's too hot to heat up the kitchen, wrap it in a wet paper towel and then some wax paper and microwave it for a couple of minutes.

If the grill is already on, prep the corn by removing the silks but leaving the husks on. Mix up a little compound butter - softened butter, brown mustard, garlic and cilantro is a favorite - while you soak the corn in water for 20-30 minutes. Smother the ears with the compound butter, tie up the ends of the husks, and throw them on the grill for 10 minutes or so. You can thank me later.