I receive dozens of e-mails about contests each week, and most are fairly mundane. But this one caught my eye.
If you do a lot of grilling, this may be the contest for you. It's not looking for recipes but product ideas.
Lifetime Brands, a national developer of kitchenware and home decor products, is looking for new ideas in outdoor cooking and grilling gear. Wouldn't you love to have been the one to have come up with the idea for one of those beer-can chicken holders or the chimney stove? What about the long-handled lighter long enough to reach the coals?
Anyone with a barbecue product concept that can enhance or change barbecuing and associated outdoor entertaining may submit it to the search hosted on Edison Nation. Lifetime Brands products are nationally branded under recognizable labels such as KitchenAid and Farberware, among others.
If your idea is selected, you'll receive a $2,500 cash advance and a percentage of sales for up to 20 years. Enter by July 28 at www.EdisonNation.com. Keep this in mind when you're out grilling over the Fourth of July. Surely you'll think at some point, "If only they made a (fill in the blank), grilling would be so much simpler." There's your entry.
Stone Cup Roasting Co.'s Cafe Society picks up again this month with a great seminar/tasting on brewing coffee at home. It's a good opportunity for any coffee lover to take part in tasting some of Stone Cup's new line of high-quality, specialty coffees.
The seminar will be held on the mezzanine at Greenlife Grocery, 301 Manufacturers Road, from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, June 29. Put it on your calendars now, then mark Aug. 4 for a seminar on pairing food and coffees. Same time, same place.
I haven't been too impressed with the selection of cantaloupe and corn so far this season. I know a lot of it is coming from Florida, which was hit by severe flooding earlier this spring. Soon it will be coming in from local farms, and that's when the season of real flavor begins. I can hardly wait. This recipe from Nestle's brand is one of the first I plan to try.
Golden Summer Corn Soup
4 medium ears corn, husks and silks removed
2 cans evaporated milk
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 celery stalk, sliced
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup water
2 large sprigs fresh thyme
Light sour cream, optional
Chopped fresh chives for garnish, optional
Cut kernels from cobs, reserving kernels and cobs. Place evaporated milk and corncobs in large saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover. Cook for 8 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes or until translucent. Stir in carrot, celery, garlic and reserved corn kernels. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Add vegetable mixture, water and thyme to saucepan; cover. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Discard corncobs and thyme. Cool mixture for about 10 minutes. Pour soup into blender until it is half full; cover. Blend until smooth. Pour through a sieve into clean saucepan (discard contents of sieve). Repeat process with remaining soup. Reheat soup till heated through. Serve topped with sour cream and chives.
Note: This soup is also great served chilled.
E-mail Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com.
