Summer Corn Chowder

This past weekend 

the girls in our family had a terrible stomach flu.

It was just awful,

and what made it worse

was that we had to cancel plans 

with our friends who we had been so looking 

forward to having over.

So, come Sunday we had 12 ears of corn

to consume before it went too starchy.

There is nothing worse than starchy corn.

Okay, there are lots of things worse than that.

But wasting 12 beautiful cobs of corn isn't fun.

When the weather became slightly cooler

I jumped at the chance to make a soup.

Especially since we had weak tummies,

I knew a bowl of soup would be the perfect remedy.

And what better soup to make that particular day

than Summer Corn Chowder? 

I grew up in Abbotsford

which prides itself,

almost as much as Chilliwack does,

on how delicious Chilliwack corn is.

However, since moving to Delta

I now know the true goodness of corn,

thanks to Ladner corn! 

Corn from the Guichon farms is simply the best. 

I purchased my corn from the Guichon sisters at 

Backroads Family Farm Market. 

Part of my reason for choosing to purchase 

Ladner corn for our family dinner with friends

is because they are from Chilliwack

and I wanted to show them how delicious our corn is, too!

One of my favourite ways to make 

a chowder is with a smokey flavour. 

This leads me to

two key ingredients in the soup;

corn (obviously) that has been charred on the grill

and a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce.

You can find chipotle peppers in adobo sauce 

in the Mexican foods aisle at your grocery store.

My kids don't love spicey food 

as much as my husband and I do,

so I add the chipotle pepper just while cooking 

and then take it out with the bay leaf.

If you like the extra kick,

simple chop it up and add it right to the soup.

A little trick my friend taught me

is to freeze the extra chipotle peppers in some of the sauce

in little freezer bags for future use.

This way you aren't purchasing and 

wasting a can each time you need one pepper.

You will need: 

• 6-8 ears of corn, shucked
• 2 cups of vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cups of water
• 1-14oz can of evaporated milk (cream works fine, too)
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
• 8 slices of bacon, chopped into pieces
• 3 russet potatoes, scrubbed. Chopped into bite size pieces.
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp of white pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/8 tsp smoked paprika

Directions:

1. Once you have shucked your corn, place it on the heated grill and let it sit a minute or so on each side. Long enough that there are some grill marks and black spots on it, but not burned. Then using a large sharp knife, cut off the kernels of all the corn cobs. 

2. Heat your dutch oven on medium heat and add the butter. Once it has melted add your onion, once it has softened add your garlic, don't let it burn. Once fragrant, add your bacon pieces. Adjust cooking temperature as needed. Once your bacon has cooked, drain the fat. 

3. Turn the heat to medium-high and add your broth. Using your wooden spoon, work quickly to scrape the bottom of the dutch oven. This gives your soup some depth of flavour and adds a beautiful colour. Remove all the bits from the bottom and sides of the pan. Then add your water. Add the corn, potatoes, bay leaf, the chipotle pepper (either whole to remove later, or chopped if you are leaving it in) and other spices. Bring to a low boil. Put the lid on and allow it to simmer for 20 minutes. 

4. Remove the bay leaf and the chipotle pepper. Taste your soup and adjust your seasonings as you desire. Bring the temperature to low. Once the soup has cooled slightly, very slowly add your evaporated milk. Serve and enjoy. 

Delicious Vegetable Soup {Vegan Friendly}

This soup is nothing but beautiful vegetables.

Go to your favourite market and pick out some season vegetables.

Some of my favourites are root vegetables such as beets and carrots, a squash, 

some sweet bell peppers, hearty greens such as kale or swiss chard and something from the onion family.

To make a perfect vegetable broth

simply save all the trimmings and ends as you go about preparing your vegetables

and store them in a freezer zipper bag in your fridge's freezer.

Once the bag is full empty it into a large pot and fill it with water.

Bring it to a boil, then simmer for a long time. 

Often I just leave it on the stove all evening until I go to bed.

Separate into more labeled freezer bags and store for later use.

For this soup I peeled and roughly cut up

-one medium sized butternut squash

-two carrots

-a shallot

-some black kale (I reserved the rest for a salad)

-an apple

-a yellow pepper

-half a head of broccolli

- the whites of a leek

- 3 golden beets (red beets are fine too but will alter the colour of the soup)

- a whole head of garlic. (Lob the tips off and leave in the paper. Wrap in foil.)

Spread it all out on a pan and drizzle with a few glugs of your favourite oil.

Roast for about an hour at 400 degrees. 

They vegetables will all cook differently, but ultimately the squash should be able to be pierced with a fork.

You will have some lovely charred bits too, just adds to the flavour.

Take a large pot and add your vegetable broth.

(You can use chicken stock too, but it won't be vegan anymore.)

Add all your vegetables.

Next unwrap your garlic from the foil.

Squeeze it from the bottom and all the fragrant cloves will just pop out.

Bring this all to a boil and simmer for at least 35 minutes.

All the vegetables should be soft now.

If you have a hand held emulsion blender use this to puree the soup.

If not, transfer portions of the soup into a blender until it has all be pureed.

Keep over heat.

Next, add your flavours and aromatics.

This is where you get to be really creative and do what you please.

Explore different culinary worlds and make your soup

Moroccan, Indian, a bit bold and spicey.

Or you could leave it simple by seasoning it with some fresh ground pepper and salt.

If you wish, add a dollop of creme fresh or sour cream on the top and some fresh cut chives.

Bon Apetit!