Corn Chowder

This soup is a great comfort food for those cloudy winter days where you’ve got a little bit of a sniffle. It’s a perfect mix of creamy (milk), salty (bacon and vegetable stock), and sweet (corn and onion) to warm the soul. The particular corn we used was from our back-yard corn-capades (there’s no other word to describe it) two summers ago. My mother-in-law bought something like 200 ears of corn, and we shucked them all and split them into two groups. Group 1 was boiled, cut off the cob, and frozen as fresh kernels. Group 2 was grated on a box grater and then boiled with a little corn starch to form the basis for her corn pudding (although we used that same mixture for our Chili con Corne, so it’s pretty versatile). Group 2 processing comes with a twofold cautionary side-note: A. Bees will swarm in due time, so be fast! and B. Be careful to not accidentally grate your finger and bleed in your corn…it results in lost corn.

We served our soup with a slice of freshly baked country white bread, which served as a great dipping component to soak in the soup. However, we’d also highly suggest oyster crackers strewn about atop your soup!

**If you’re looking for a corn chowder with a little twist, take a look at our Goat Milk Corn Chowder too!

Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:

• Corn (Frozen or Freshly cut off the Cob)
• 3 Red Potatoes
• 4-5 Strips of Bacon (Fat Mostly Trimmed Off)
• 4 Tablespoons of Butter
• Spinach
• Onion
• Parsley
• 3 Cups Vegetable Stock
• 2 Cups Milk
• 2 Tablespoons of Corn Starch (and some warm water to dissolve it)
• Black Pepper

Method:

• Wash and cube your potatoes. and finely dice some onions.
• Melt your butter in a soup pot over medium low heat, and add you cubed potatoes. Then, sprinkle in some parsley. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes, and then add in your onion, and continue to cook until your potatoes brown a bit and soften.
• As your onion and potatoes cook, slice your spinach into ribbons and set aside.
• Trim excess fat off your bacon, and slice it into thin strips.
• When your potatoes and onions are mostly cooked and caramelized, add your bacon strips, and sautee to cook fully.
• Then, add your corn and spinach, and cook until your spinach wilts.
• When your spinach has wilted, and you’ve stirred all of your ingredients to combine, turn the heat to low, and pour in your vegetable stock and milk. Grind in some black pepper, and bring back to a lower simmer.
• When your soup is simmering, mix some corn starch in just enough warm water that you can fully dissolve it when you stir together. Then, pour that into your soup to thicken.
• When your soup reaches your desired level of thickness, you’re good to go!
• Plate Bowl, Devour, and Enjoy!