Corn is out of season; Being corny? Not so much.

My days of frying bacon in a cast iron skillet are over. I tried the oven for the first time this morning, and I am going to be as obnoxious as a reformed smoker about it.

Ali -- who loves bacon but has never dodged grease explosions and has the unscarred arms to prove it -- was in heaven as the aroma filled the kitchen. She was making tacos but was full of ideas for the bacon.

"You know what we haven't made in a long time? That corn salad with onions and the bacon and the bacon grease," she said, answering her own questions. "Mmmmm."

"Oh, no," she said, suddenly, her despair palpable. "We use fresh corn for that."

I had warmed to the idea before she ditched it. It is an awesome salad, probably in part because we use fresh corn from the Broad Ripple Farmer's Market to make it.  Like our famous watermelon salad, the main ingredient is better when in season and from a local field.

She and Jeff routinely make fun of me for my habit of substituting what we have rather than making another trip to the store or not waiting for the proper season for things. I always buy one watermelon too soon in the spring and one too long after summer for it to be optimally flavored. And I will use herbs from a jar if we don't have fresh.

So it wasn't out of the ordinary for me to point out: "We have frozen corn downstairs."

Alison looked down her nose at me, which she can do now that she's taller than me.

"I'm from Indiana," she informed me. "I'm a corn snob."

Then, she cracked herself up and said, "You might say I'm a CORNoisseur."

I live in a comedy club.