Late Summer Corn and Tomato Alternative -- Soup but not Chowder

There are only so many times you can have fresh farm stand corn cooked gently on the grill served naked without butter or salt because it's so sweet just by itself, accompanied by a simple plate of heirloom tomatoes harvested from the garden, perhaps with a light sprinkle of salt and pepper and a topping of chopped basil (also from the garden).  With a side dish of grilled chicken.  This is otherwise known as Sunday dinner around here, because I would make twice or three times as much corn as needed so that it could be eaten cold straight out of the fridge or cut into salads during the week (usually with tomatoes).  And two or three times as much chicken.  Only so many times.  Susan was starting to roll her eyes.  So was I.

In my defense, it was a hot summer.  Anything that involved turning on the indoor stove was off limits, and raw tomatoes needed no heat.  But still, there are only so many times.  The temperature had dropped, so a corn and tomato chowder would be perfect.

Here's what I had on hand:  Six ears of white corn from Wilson Farms (the white corn is here, shouted the signs...who could resist?), and some tomatoes from the garden.  The recipe surfing I did for inspiration mostly turned up chowders that relied on cream or milk, but I thought that much dairy would overwhelm the subtle flavors of the corn and tomatoes.  Bacon was a common theme, and I had a few slices in the freezer awaiting a mission.  Bacon would give the soup some depth.  One or two recipes had shallots, which I thought would work well.  I had a few Zavory hot peppers, "the first habaneros with mild heat" from the garden.  My experience with them so far this season was that they were very mild, so I intended to use six or seven, hoping for some mild heat.

An abundance of sage!!

The recipes I found without dairy called for using chicken stock.  My feeling was this would overwhelm the corn and tomato flavor, so I opted for making a corn stock from the denuded corn cobs.  Once I was well into the soup making I realized that some herbs would work well.  Basil would be my usual choice, but just outside the kitchen door was an abundance of sage, which I don't use nearly as often.  So at the last minute I piled up about 10 leaves of the sage on the cutting board, cut them once to open the insides, and tied the stack into a little bundle with a silicone band.  Kitchen twine would work too, or even just chop up the sage and add near the end of the cooking.

The result was a mildly flavored soup, heavily sweet from the fresh sweet corn, with some depth provided by the tomatoes.  Some labneh gave the dish a little tang, and when trying the leftovers the next night I added in a little Cholula hot sauce, and moderately hot vinegar-based hot sauce, where vinegar is an important part of the flavor.  Plain sherry vinegar would work well too if you don't want the heat.

Corn and Tomato Soup

Yield: Serves 4-6

Total Time: 45 min

Great for a late summer appetizer or main dish on a cool evening.  It keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days.

Ingredients:

• 6 ears corn, kernels stripped off, ears reserved for use in the stock
• 4-6 small tomatoes, or 1-2 large
• 1-2 habanero peppers (optional, more or less to taste)
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 3 strips bacon, chopped
• 10 leaves fresh sage, more for garnish
• 4-6 teaspoons of labneh or greek yogurt or creme fraiche or sour cream (one per serving bowl), or to taste
• Vinegar based moderate hot sauce (such as Cholula) or sherry vinegar, depending on your taste.
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. In a large saucepan or dutch oven, cook the bacon on medium-high heat for about 10 minutes until the bacon is crisp.  Reserve the bacon for later, and pour off all but one tablespoon of the bacon fat.
2. Saute the shallot and peppers in the bacon fat for a few minutes, until translucent.
3. Put the corn cobs in the pan, and CAREFULLY add water to cover cobs (water and hot fat will spatter!)  If your cobs don't fit in one layer, only cover the first layer.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.  Rotate the ears of corn so that they all get some time in the water.  Remove and discard the cobs.
4. Add all but 1/2 cup of the corn kernels and all of the tomatoes.  Cut the sage leaves once to open them up, and tie with kitchen twine or a silicone band so that they can be easily removed. (Alternatively, cut them in a chiffonade and add them toward the end of the cooking time.)  Cook for 5-10 minutes, until the corn gets a little tender.
5. Remove from the heat and use an immersion blender to buzz the soup to whatever texture you like.  Alternatively, use a blender and blend in batches filling to only 1/3 full to avoid overflow of hot soup (not good!)
6. Return to the heat and add in the reserved corn kernels.  Cook for a few minutes.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Serve in soup bowls with a dollop of the labneh or sour dairy of your choice and some drops of the hot sauce or vinegar, if desired, to taste.

 Click here for printable recipe.

Late June Market Meal

The Medford Farmers Market has been going strong for a few weeks now this season, and getting better every week. They have a new location right in Medford Square. The vibe is good and so is the music. And lots to choose from. I couldn't make it myself this week, but Susan came through with a nice assortment of goodies to make a Friday night meal (and she stayed away from the sweets this time!)

I like to do serial dinners, and Susan's market basket was perfect.  The snap peas from Brigham Farm were sitting in the refrigerator already in that white bowl you see in the picture.  Nothing else needed but to put out a little bowl for the green strings.  Sweet and tender.  A perfect snack to have sitting on the table outdoors in the backyard for everyone to enjoy while I got the rest of the meal going.

The sweet corn from Spring Brook Farm were a pleasant surprise for so early in the season.  I couldn't believe they came from New England.  Rubbed with a light coating of olive oil and cooked over medium heat on a closed grill for about seven or eight minutes, and they were perfect.  A little butter and a squeeze of lime gave it a little zing.

Susan had bought these two veal steaks from Misty Brook Farm based on the RAVE reviews from one of the other market customers.  I don't know what cuts of meat these were, but I put them in the fridge overnight Thursday to thaw.  Given the rave reviews, I figured I wouldn't do too much to it.  The rule of steak is that if it's REALLY GOOD steak, a little salt and pepper is all you want.  I popped these babies on the grill for about 3 or 4 minutes per side, being afraid of overcooking them.  The small boneless piece came out perfect.  The larger bone-in piece was a little underdone (according to Susan, who loves underdone).  Either way though, these had to have been among the best pieces of meat I've ever eaten.  They each had a complex flavor enhanced by the salt and pepper.  And tender!

Finally, sliced strawberries also from Spring Brook Farm with blueberries from Clearview Farm with a little Grand Marnier.  (OK....I didn't get the Grand Marnier from the market!)  The strawberries were deep red throughout, tender, sweet and juicy.  The blueberries plump and sweet.  The Grand Marnier gave oozed the juices out from the strawberries a bit and gave both fruits a little more depth and a kick.

Susan can shop for me at the market anytime!

Thinking one or two moves ahead

I'm on a little weekend retreat on a lake in Maine.  There aren't any grocery stores within easy driving distance, so I needed to do at least a little thinking about what food I'd bring, so  I didn't end up eating crackers, cheese and peanut butter for two and a half days.

I didn't know exactly what I'd have, but I knew I had stuff in the fridge that could easily be transported in a cooler -- basically moving my food stores up north.  But I had to be selective.  And I only wanted to "cook" one night.  So, the food puzzle became, "what food can a bring that will be cooked once, and lend itself to multiple interpretations?"

Into the cooler/provisions bag went:

• Shriveling Asian eggplants (2)
• Flat leaf parsley
• One cup of brown rice tossed into a plastic bag
• One avocado
• One lime
• One half a large red onion
• One half a long English cucumber
• One heckuva lot of marinating Korean style beef from the HMart, needing to be eaten.
• Granola
• Milk
• Assorted fruits and snacks (which don't count for this little exercise)

One the way up, I thought some corn on the cob and tomato would be good too, in unspecified ways.  I bought more corn than I needed for one meal, because cold corn cut into salads is fantastic.

There was plenty of meat for a crowd, so I figured if I grilled it the first night, it would be useful for several meals to come, in various ways.  I'll probably end up bringing some home.

It was still pretty hot out by the time I was ready to cook, so doing almost everything outside made some sense.  I got the rice going, because that would take the longest -- 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, I sliced the eggplant and brushed them with oil for grilling on low heat, and removed the silk from the corn to roast on the same low fire, encased in the silkless husks.  The eggplant were ready in ten minutes, the corn in 15.  I created yet another variation on the "dress the eggplant after you grill them" theme, this time with oil, cider vinegar, habanero pepper sauce (a few drops), regular paprika (didn't have smoked), garlic powder (forgot the fresh garlic, doh!), salt/pepper.

So the first night was pretty straight-ahead, after I grilled the meat.

For lunch today, I had a pretty good assortment of things from which to create something tasty.  Cut the kernels off a couple of ears of the corn, chunked the avocado, diced some tomato, pulled the leaves off a good handful of parsley, tossed in about half the leftover corn, and remembered the red onion at the last minute.  Dressed in a little olive oil, lime juice and salt/pepper and it was a meal, accompanied by a little beef sandwich. Forgot I had cucumber, which would have been a good addition -- perhaps for tonight's rendition.  And the leftover eggplant is still waiting to be used.

Nothing fancy, but a satisfying lunch -- one that I'd pay for if I were out somewhere.  I still have a couple of meals to go, and I now have the salad plus a few other items.  No need to cook everyday, just leave some open ended opportunities for the use of the leftovers.