First, some real talk: If you’re husking an ear of corn and you find a little critter in there, munching away at kernels, you might be tempted to throw that corn up in the air and head for the hills. But don’t do it. Fnding worms in your fruits and vegetables can actually be a good thing. It’s probably a sign that pesticides have not been used in the growing of your produce. Gavin Mills , chef at the recently opened Miro in downtown LA, suggests simply cutting off the wormy bit: “I usually try and release the worm back into the wild. I’ll put him in one of my plant pots that’s out front of the restaurant because he deserves to live too. From there we just eat away. It’s so delicious.”
Mills likes to buy his bicolor corn from Finley Farms because it’s organic, sweet and has fat kernels. The Finley Farm corn fields in Santa Ynez are never sprayed with pesticides. When the tassels turn brown, the corn is ripe, ready to be picked and brought to market. Try Miro’s recipe for corn and tomatillo salad with crispy pig ears — fancy! — on the Good Food blog .
Today at the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market, the chef at Miro, Gavin Mills, shops for bicolor corn at the Finley Farm stand. He goes through about 65 ears of corn each week.