In Herbed Corn, frozen sweet corn from our garden tastes as fresh as the day we picked it. The recipe is the result of my experimenting with combinations of different herbs to dress up a vegetable my family has always enjoyed.
One of our daughters and our daughter-in-law have large herb gardens, and I have a small one. So I have plenty of taste-tempting varieties to try.
Some of the grandchildren—we have 15, plus four great-grandkids—call this dish "Grandpa and Grandma's Indiana Corn" and request it when they visit. Our other daughter lives in China with her family. They'll be coming home for a visit this fall and already have their order in for "Indiana Corn!"
One of our sons and a grandson farm with us—we raise corn and soybeans on 1,700 acres. The other son is the pastor at our church, where I do volunteer work.
I encourage our grandchildren to help out in the kitchen, to set the table and make things pretty for a meal. For the Thanksgiving table, I use fall decorations—including gourds and pumpkins from the garden along with wicker cornucopias. Some of our granddaughters are taking a great interest in cooking and have their own subscriptions to Taste of Home!
It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie, but mine puts a twist on the traditional. The festive filling of Walnut-Date Pumpkin Pie is a bit different and has earned the Hoffman family stamp of approval.
Since some of the family stay for the day, I always cook extra so we can have leftovers in the evening (if anyone is hungry!) and can make a no-fuss turkey casserole for the next day.
I never tire of trying out new recipes and different methods of cooking. Martin jokes that he hasn't had the same meal twice since we've been married!
Besides cooking for the family, I like to bake and take goodies to friends in need. We also invite guests to our home for theme dinners about once a month.