Shucks, it's corn season already

INDULGE your appetite for sweet corn by shopping farmers markets, roadside stands and local grocers for freshly picked ears, then crunching your way around cob after cob after cob.

While a rainy spring hampered planting, the corn harvest began in Lancaster County the third week of June, according to the Pennsylvania Vegetable Marketing & Research Program, in Harrisburg. Across the Delaware, New Jersey's Department of Agriculture said record-breaking warm spring weather brought in the corn (and tomatoes) about a week or two early.

All this means that it's time to put a pot of water on. But, of course, there's lots to do with fresh corn besides eat it off the cob.

A pair of cool corn soups are worth trying in Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer's book, Canal House Cooks Every Day (Andrews McMeel, $45), but their take on a classic corn-and-bean succotash shouldn't be missed. It begins with leftover corn, and "you needn't worry if you have a little more of one ingredient or a little less of another," the Lambertville, N.J.-based authors write. "This salad isn't finicky."

Indeed, the salad is easily doctored. If you like, toss in olives and salty cheese, like they do.

Heather Christo's Generous Table: Sharing the Love of Food With Friends and Family (Kyle Books, $29.95) celebrates the freshest of corn by mixing raw kernels with mango, then tucking the combo into heirloom tomatoes for serving - or into small mason jars for a more casual feel.

How do you choose terrific fresh corn? Well, don't pull back the husks to see if it's an ear you want, because you'll just dry out the kernels, writes Deborah Madison's in her Vegetable Literacy (Ten Speed Press, $40). "Instead, feel the ear with your fingers to detect whether the kernels are filled out or not."

Madison, who might serve freshly cooked corn with an herbed salt or salsa verde, suggests opting for organic corn whenever possible. "And don't let a worm scare you if you find it on the tip of an ear. It's just a little creature, easily knocked off its perch."

Heck, we were always told worms are picky, and finding one means you've snagged an especially sweet ear.