Summer Corn Chowder

It has been too long, summer is almost over, the kids are back in school and for some reason it's 90F outside. I've been busy with many adventures, primarily the first one with my sheep here at the farm. More on that later.

Living in the country, I'm lucky to have many farm stands nearby to grab sweet corn, still warm from the sun and bring it home for dinner. I always buy a dozen, so whatever isn't eaten gets cut off the cob and frozen for winter tomato soup. But today I was in the mood for a sweet corn chowder, so soup and bread it was. Fresh corn certainly made the dish, you cannot beat the flavor.

I often leave the skins/peels on things like carrots and potatoes, especially this time of year when I know where the came from. I just scrub them good. They add good nutrients and fiber to a dish, and save me time. You can always peel, but in something like this, give it a shot sometime.

Summer Corn Chowder

1 Tbs olive oil
3 strips bacon, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large carrot, diced small
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp fresh thyme
1 lb. potatoes, diced into 1/2" cubes
4 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
6 ears fresh sweet corn ( husked, and cut off the cob)
1 can evaporated milk (you can sub half and half, I used what I had)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat, add bacon and cook until it begins to brown. Add the onions, celery, carrot, garlic and thyme, and cook until they start to just soften, about 5 minutes.

Add the potatoes, stock and bay leaf, bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Potatoes will not be entirely cooked.

Add the corn, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for another 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are fork tender. Discard the bayleaf.

Either purée half the mixture with a submersion blender, or transfer half the soup to a stand blender to purée, and return to pot. Add the milk, and simmer until just heated through, adjust seasonings.
Serve with crusty bread to dunk with, and perhaps some cayenne pepper to sprinkle on top.