I have been having corn cravings, of all things. John thinks this is really weird. I say: and have I ever had weird cravings in the past? Pickled beets, liverwurst sandwiches, bowls of fresh tomato and salt, beef stroganoff, mushrooms dipped in ranch dressing? Well yes, I suppose you have, you goddamned freak.
Ah yes.
So right now my thing is corn. As such, here is how to make approximately 3 cups of spicy corn for burrito filling or other consumption.
Get some stuff:
First, defrost your corn. I stick mine in a glass and fill it with hot tap water, then drain the water and repeat several times while I'm doing the rest of the cooking. This works admirably well. Or you can run hot water over it in a colander. Or you can, you know, use fresh corn. That's an idea.
Whip out your knife and cutting board, and dice up your onion and garlic. Use more or less garlic, as your taste buds indicate. I like much more onion than garlic in this particular dish. While you're chopping, you can heat your frying pan on low-medium and melt maybe a tablespoon of butter in it. When it's all hot and melty, and your onions and garlic are sufficiently chopped, add them to the frying pan and sauté. Add some cumin, chili powder (a good teaspoon each), and cayenne (less) as well, and stir to get the pieces good and coated with spice.
Let it all sit for a couple minutes while you dice up your jalapeno. Be careful with jalapenos, kids: scrub the hell out of your hands after touching them, and don't touch your eyes for as long as you can remember not to. You can de-seed or de-spine the jalapeno if you want a less spicy end result. I like to leave some but not all in (read: I am a wuss but I like spice but am still a wuss). I also like to dice the jalapeno as finely as possible, so as to get the spice distributed well within the dish.
Anyway, dice it and add it to your frying pan. Make sure to turn on your kitchen fan, so you don't burn your eyes with jalapeno fumes. Then dice some red and green pepper and throw it in as well. Vary the amounts of each depending on your desired level of sweetness; I used maybe 3/4 of a pepper total, half red and half green. If you want a very spicy end result, you might want to substitute more jalapenos, or maybe some anaheims or serranos or whatever floats your boat. You can be a bit more haphazard preparing bell peppers, as they contain minimal capsaicin and thus do not require caution. I mean, don't cut your thumb off or anything, but other than that, whatever. Maybe turn the heat up a bit, as peppers have a good bit of moisture in them.
Check to see if your corn is defrosted. I put my hand over the mouth of the cup and pour the water out through my fingers, so I can feel how cold the corn is or is not. It's very easy, and you don't have to wash the colander. If it's not defrosted, rinse with hot water a couple more times. Drain and add it to the frying pan.
Mix everything together and sauté with some salt and a little pepper. After five minutes or so, when the spices have gotten a chance to mix in with everything, give it a taste. Do you want more cumin or chili powder? Salt? I like a good amount of salt here. Maybe a splash of lemon or lime juice? If so, add them and cook awhile longer. It's done when any liquid has evaporated and the vegetables are at your desired state of doneness.
I like to eat this straight from a bowl or add it to burritos. Last night I filled the burritos with just this and a little cheddar cheese (due to not making refried beans in a horrifically long time i.e. three weeks), and they were happy and delicious. The corn and veggies are small and noncohesive, though, and so tend to fall out the top of the burrito when you first pick it up. It should work a bit better with refrieds to cement them in. In any case, it should certainly be delicious.