Pet Peeve and Fresh Corn Fritters with Chipotle Pepper Salsa

My kitchen is my domain. I am lordess and master over all that goes on in my kitchen. 

That's the way it is. Period. You want good eats? Listen up. Obey.

As lordess and master I have a few rules that must be obeyed. I'm not anal about a lot of things. Messy bedrooms, whatever. 

Dog paw prints pretty much everywhere - that's the way it goes. 

You want to wear the same dirty underwear 3 days in a row? I gave up trying for mother of the year eons ago. Have at it. 

But the kitchen.. ah.. that's another story. 

So, when a simple rule is broken - it tends to send me over the edge of reason. 

I have a nifty little garbage bin attached to the door under my sink. I use the bin for coffee grounds, egg shells, vegetable refuse. When it's full, it goes into my compost bin for regeneration into rich, fertile soil for my garden. This is not a new rule or phenomenon. This is the way it is. 

So, then. ahem... can anyone tell me what this is doing in my refuse bin, nestled among the coffee grounds and recycled paper towels and eggplant skins?

A can? A Vernor's Ginger Ale can to be exact. 

How many years will the can take to turn to compost? Oh, I don't know, let's see.. maybe a million???? 

Nothing frosts me more than messing with my garden, my compost or my kitchen rules. Is it too much to ask to follow a few simple compost / kitchen rules?

The only thing I can do with such wanton disregard of a few simple rules is wait until each and everyone of my KidAdults is grown and have homes (and rules) of their own. Then revenge will be mine. I plan on visiting on a regular basis and breaking some rules! 

Fresh Corn Fritters with Chipotle Pepper Salsa: (adapted from Fine Cooking, August/September 2009 issue, page 38.

I lightened the original recipe by replacing whole milk with skim milk and sour cream with Zero % fat Greek yogurt. I also simplified the recipe by using store bought salsa and adding Chipotle Pepper flakes. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! 

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt (and more for sprinkling)

1/2 cup skim milk

1/4 cup greek style yogurt

2 large eggs

1 cup fresh corn kernels cut off the cob and coarsely chopped (about 2 ears of fresh corn, uncooked)

Vegetable or Canola Oil for frying

Stir flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, yogurt and eggs. 

With a rubber spatula, fold the milk combination into the flour mixture. Fold in corn kernels. Let sit for 10 minutes for baking powder to do its job. 

Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan to 350 degrees. (you want about 2 inches of oil)

Using a tablespoon or mini ice cream scoop, drop batter into hot oil. Don't crowd the fritters and work in batches. Fry until golden, about 2 minutes, turn and fry other side another 2 minutes. Repeat until all batter is used. Drain on brown paper bags and sprinkle with salt. 

Serve with store bought salsa (the heat level is your choice) to which 1 teaspoon of Chipotle Pepper Flakes is added per 1 cup of salsa. 

If you have any leftovers eat them in the morning, sprinkled with powdered sugar and warm maple syrup for dipping. 

Let me know how that leftover thing works because I've never had leftovers... unless of course someone keeps putting cans into my compost bin...