Throw away the outside and cook the inside, then eat the outside and throw away the inside.

I am commonly referred to as a cob when eaten.

My last four are a staple crop, Thats also known as maize, If you'd kept me away from the squirrel, We might have stayed in the ice age, My first is a simple vowel, That is not found in oil, south, or tie, I grow into a strong tree, What am I?

I have feet but no legs, and a back but no spine. I am a wooden path that leads nowhere, floating where the salt meets the pine. I welcome the wanderer back from the foam, Providing a tether, a gateway to home.

Nerds call me my name, my name and my name. Three other kinds of me, at risk just the same. A gunshot and brawl has brought me to fame. The answer was limited to just seven letters, what a shame...