Forecast Calls for More Corn, So Make Some Chowder

We’ll likely be getting some more corn in this week’s share, though probably not the dozens of ears we got last week. Hope you’re not bored with corn yet; it’s a delicious vegetable and ever so versatile. How many other vegetables can you make soup, bread, and pudding out of?

We’ve already had a corn pudding recipe, and you can make corn bread from your favorite recipe and just throw in some corn kernels. So, today let’s look at soup.
Chowder, actually, and this one even uses the cobs. It’s adapted from a recipe I found on SimplyRecipes.com.

Corn Chowder
1 Tablespoon butter
2 slices of bacon
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
4 ears of sweet corn, kernels removed from cobs (but keep the cobs, too)
3½ cups milk
1 medium-sized Yukon gold potato, peeled and diced
1 bell pepper (red or orange is good, but green is okay too)
1 teaspoon chopped basil
½ teaspoon sea salt
Ground pepper
Small bag of frozen cooked shrimp (optional)

Fry the bacon in your soup pot; take out the bacon strips and drain. Add the butter to the soup pot and then add the onion and sauté for about 4 or 5 minutes, until it is soft but not brown. Add the chopped celery and cook for another 4 or 5 minutes. Then break the corn cobs in half and add them to the saucepan. Add the milk and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a very low simmer, cover the pot, and cook for 30 minutes. Make sure the heat is as low as possible to prevent scalding the milk on the bottom of the pan.

Discard the cobs, turn up the heat again, and add the potatoes, chopped bell pepper, chopped basil, sea salt, and ground pepper to taste, bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer for 15 minutes. Then raise the heat again, add the corn kernels and the optional shrimp (defrosted a bit by running water over them). Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, until corn is cooked and shrimp are heated through. Crumble the reserved bacon over the top of the soup, stir in, and serve.

I decided to add the shrimp after I made the chowder because the smell of the soup while it was cooking reminded me of a shrimp and corn chowder I had made in the past; I’m sure this would be perfectly delicious without the shrimp, too.

Leeks and Potatoes in the Soup Pot

Last week we got leeks and potatoes in our shares, so I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one thinking about soup. I suspect everybody has a good potato soup recipe, hot or cold (the Good Housekeeping cookbook from the 1950s has my favorite vichyssoise recipe). In fact, I think I have three kinds of soup in my refrigerator right now--leek soup, gazpacho, and cream of tomato and dill soup. I thought I'd post a nice simple recipe for a cold soup that uses leeks and potatoes.

Leek Soup

4 leeks (white part mostly) washed and sliced thin
2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
1 large onion, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 oz. spinach or other greens
2 Tbsps. butter
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
Dash white pepper

1/2 cup heavy cream or sour cream
chopped chives or parsley

Saute the leeks, potatoes, onions, garlic, and spinach or greens in a large saucepan for about 20 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until soft but not brown. Stir in the chicken or vegetable stock and milk; bring the mixture to the boiling point, then remove from heat. Cool a little, season with salt and pepper, and puree in a food processor. Chill several hours, then stir in heavy cream or sour cream before serving, cold, with chopped chives or parsley.