Monthly Archives: September 2014

The last call for summer corn is upon us in Michigan. My favorite time of late summer/early fall is the week or two in which Honeycrisp apples overlap sweet summer corn harvest. Today from Versluis Farm I picked up 16 ears of corn, a half bushel of the last of the Ginger Gold apples, a half bushel of the first Honeycrisp apples, a few of the remaining plums and a few pints of white peaches. This time of year makes me a little sad…squash season will be upon us at anytime which means, more butternut, spaghetti, acorn and buttercup flesh than I can stand to consume frankly. I hope to make a few more grabs at the apples before they disappear and savor the sweets of summer.

To make the best use of corn today, I stripped it from the cob and created this soup to freeze for when I get all squashed out this winter. Savor summer friends, it is disappearing before our very eyes.

• 2 large sweet potatoes, diced
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• 1 large green bell pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 1 poblano pepper, diced
• 8 ears corn, stripped of kernels (save cobs for broth)
• 1 red onion, diced
• 3 shallots, diced
• 1 T garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp powdered onion
• 2 tsp powdered garlic
• 2 tsp – 1 1/2 T hot curry powder
• 2 tsp black pepper, ground
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk (approx 11-15 ounces depending on brand)
• 6-8 C water
• 3 T powdered bullion (I use Rapunzel brand)
• 1-2 T extra virgin olive oil
• juice and zest of 1 lime

Instructions:

In a dutch oven, saute in extra virgin olive oil red bell pepper, green bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, poblano pepper, red onion, shallots, and garlic. Add corn after veggies are cooked through and cook together for one minute. To the veggies add spices, bullion, water and corn cobs stripped of kernels – the remaining starch helps thicken the soup. Simmer soup for 30-60 minutes then remove cobs and add full-fat coconut milk, lime juice and zest, stir. Before serving, do one of two things: use immersion blender to achieve additional thickness or transfer half of soup to food processor or blender until desired consistency is met. If you like a thicker chowder, consider using part mashed sweet potato and part diced. Serve with naan or any other carb. Freezes well.