Corn and Potato Chowder

It’s soup season! I had some lovely Quincy corn in the fridge that I needed to use and a recipe I wanted to try, so Corn and Potato Chowder was on the menu for dinner last night. The ingredients. These are things I almost always have on hand. The only thing I had to buy was whipping cream.

This took about 45 minutes start to finish (not including cooking the bacon). I think I can get this down to a 30 minute meal with a few tweaks. The original recipe does not call for bacon, but everything is better with bacon, right?! This was a totally filling comfort food dinner. If you sub vegetable broth for the chicken broth, the chowder is vegetarian.

This makes about 4 main dish servings. It will not freeze well due to the corn and potatoes.

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2 cups corn
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled

Sauté corn, onion and garlic in a large saucepan until the onion is tender. Process half of the vegetables in a blender or food processor until finely chopped. Return to saucepan.

Add broth, potatoes and thyme. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Stir in cream and simmer 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve topped with crumbled bacon.

Variations: try adding diced ham instead of the bacon.

Top with shredded cheddar cheese and/or chives.

Quinoa Corn Cakes

I was at the Skagit Valley Co-Op this weekend, and like always, I had to check out what they had to offer in their deli section.

They had these gorgeous quiona-corn cakes. I had to try one. Delicious! So delicious, in fact, that when I got home I decided to try and recreate the recipe. It was a bit of an adventure.

First, I was out of quinoa. Backpacking bins to the rescue! I had cooked and pre-dehydrated quinoa. So I used that. And half a can of corn. Two eggs. And half a jar of roasted red bell pepper. And a handfull of fresh cilantro that is starting to wilt in the fridge. A teaspoon or so of cumin to spice it up.

Hmmmm… it isn’t holding together like I want it to. Add some bread. Nope. Still not working. Add flour! YES!!! But now it is a little too thick. So I added the rest of the can of corn.

Success!! While it wasn’t exactly like the Co-Op’s I think I now have the base of something good for next time. Good hot or cold too. Bonus.

(photo is of my version)