My mother's oldest brother of seven siblings, Makoto, and his wife Haruko were farmers who grew grapes, peaches, eggplants and sweet corn and more. (My father also had seven siblings, so I had fourteen uncles and aunts!) They also used to raise silkworms in the second story of their home until I was in kindergarten or first grade. Makoto was a hard worker and a kind person and he passed away in October, 2021 at 97 years old. I still remember him bringing loads of baby corn with his K-truck (small version of pick up truck) when they removed extra ears of corn from stalks. We shucked so much baby corn we made baby corn salad. When he harvested the sweet corn, he shared with us the “B-grade” (unsellable, it’s still good though!) corn along with kabocha squash. My mom steamed the sweet corn, even in the morning. It was so good, sweet and delicious. I thought that I was so lucky to be able to eat as much corn as I wanted, and have enough to share with neighbors. Sweet corn prices in Japan are usually two or three times more expensive than here! 

  We had a little garden in Japan and my grandma loved to plant sweet corn and edamame seeds in summer. She bought seeds at a nearby small store called Ishikawa-san. Our corn and edamame were not as pretty as my uncle's, but they had the freshest taste because we cooked it right after we picked it. The smell and taste remain deep in my brain.