I am a year round maker and consumer of soup.
With that being said, the nature of my soups change seasonally. My summertime soups are usually on the lighter side, made with the fresh bounty of the season, and spiced more on the light and floral side, opposed to the really deep and warm spices that I use all winter long,
This corn chowder is made just right. It had the perfect balance of hearty and creamy from the potatoes and use of pureed onion cream, but still light and refreshing from the sweet fresh corn and the lemony fresh thyme. It is for sure a great summertime soup (chowder) Even the Mr. was even really into it, and he claims he doesn't like corn. (I say bullshit to that.. he eats corn all the time)
Now to chowder!
The Stuff. Some super fresh corn on the cob, a couple onions, a few chopped up potatoes and a chopped up carrot. Then we have a little oil, a lemon, dried thyme and salt and pepper.
To start, take an onion, chop it up, and toss into a large heavy pot with a little olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Stick pot on stove on medium heat and cook until onions are soft and traslutcent. When the onions are done, remove and add to a blender or bowl. (if using a hand blender) Add in the juice of the lemon and blend it all up until nice a smooth.
You have now made a nice creamy cream that will help make the final product more, well more creamy without the use of cream (lets say cream on more time !) .Set aside.
When the pot is empty again, add in the rest of the stuff, including the cobs of the corn, (they hold a butt load of flavor) the dried thyme, and salt and pepper. Place on stove and add enough water to completely submerge the veggies. Keep pot on a medium heat, add a lid, and stir ever once in a while. Cook until the potatoes are nice and tender. (when the potatoes are done, so is everything else)
Now that everything is all cooked up, remove the cobs and stir in the onion puree.
Now with a hand blender, blend up until the chowder is thick and smooth, but still nice and chunky. (If you are working with a blender, just remove about half of the soup and blend up, then dump back in) The optimal chunkiness is up to you , so blend, check the chunk, then blend a little more if needed. If you feel that the soup is to thick, add in a little more water, or to thin, just cook down o little longer.
Once you like the constituency,season to taste with salt and pepper and place pot back on a simmer until you are ready to serve.
And thats how we make corn chowder
It tastes best serves in the daintiest of the cups, sprinkled heavily with cracked pepper, and with a side of some cracker situation (Saltines would be best, but sometime there are only triscits in the house)
Summertime is for chowder!
HAPPY Humpday Wednesday!!!
-C
Corn Chowder
Makes a pot big enough for 4-6 nice decent sized servings
- 2 fresh ears of corn
- 3 medium (tennis ball sized) red or white potatoes
- 2 white or yellow onions
- 1 carrot
- Juice of a lemon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dried thyme
- salt and pepper
To start, peel and dice one whole onion and toss into pot with olive oil and stick on medium heat. Cook onions until translucent and fragrant. Remove from pot and add cooked onions and the lemon juice to a blender and puree until smooth and set aside.
While you are cooking down the onions, dice up the carrot and onion, remove the corn kernels from the cob, and chop up the potatoes. Once you have removed the first batch of onions, toss in corn, onions, carrot, potatoes, and the dried thyme. Stir around in the pot on medium heat for a few minutes just to warm up the spices. Add the cobs into the pot and fill with enough water to cover the stuff in the pot. Place back on medium heat with a lid and cook for another 20ish minutes, or until potatoes are super tender and almost falling apart.
Remove cobs from pot and add in the onion puree. Now either remove about half the soup and place in the bender and blend up til smooth, or use a hand blender and blend up chowder until you get your desired chunkiness. If you think the chowder seems to thick, add in more water, or to thin, just cook down a little longer on the stove.
When ready to eat, ladle chowder into a cup or bowl and add lots of fresh cracked pepper.
Serve with a cracker and a spoon to eat it with.
Chomp Chomp Chomp… The sound I make as I eat this freaking fantastic crunchy granola. You know it's good when the person sitting next to you is annoyed by the sound of you face while eating. 
The simplest of stuff. 1 smashed banana, a cup of pureed butternut squash, Vietnamese cinnamon*, honey, and old fashion oats. (and a dash of salt, not shown)
Toss the cinnamon and salt with the oats. Mix together the banana, squash and the sweetener and combine with the oats until full incorporated. 
Dump the mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet and give it a little pat, you know, to settle all the bit and pieces together, all cozy and evenly spread out. Now stick into a preheated oven and after about 20 minutes, take out of oven and give the granola a toss, breaking apart any super big chunks or overly wet pieces. Put back into oven for another 20 minutes. (I like my granola super crispy crunchy so I cook it a little longer, like 30 more minutes)
And when you are happy with the crunchiness of you granola, remove from oven and let cool, trying not to eat all of it while it sit's on the counter looking all pretty and smelling like happiness. 
