Veggie-Mania

The CSA is going full tilt even as the leaves are starting to turn. I have been completely inundated with corn and tomatoes and have no idea what to do with myself. The fridge is a vegetable minefield. I have no freezer space left, even after giving away food right, left and center. My friends are starting to say "no" to the vegetables. Well, some of them, anyway. The other friends have their mouths full, so they can't say no.

In all of this chaos, the only thing to do is make soup. I've become completely enamored of homemade soup, as I have previously posted, but I have to say that my soups have really gotten to the next level this summer. Mark Bittman wrote about the joys of preserving summer produce in soup form in one of his recent NYTimes posts, and the recipe below is adapted from his corn chowder recipe. I like that it is simple but not Johnny-One-Note on the corn. Without the half and half, this soup freezes incredibly well. Thaw before reheating - otherwise the veggies will get all starchy from the microwave.

Corn Chowder with Potatoes and Peas

1 tbsn butter
1 medium onion in 1/2" dice
4 cups water
4 cups vegetable stock (homemade or whatever)
4 ears corn, husked and cleaned of thread, kernels planked (retain cobs)
1/2 package (about 1 1/2 cups) baby peas
5 medium-size yukon gold potatoes in 1/4" dice
2 cups baby carrots in 1/2" pieces
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. liquid smoke (optional, and only if you would otherwise want to add some kind of smoked meat to this recipe. You know who you are).
half and half, for serving (optional, or go for fat-free)

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Saute onion until golden and translucent. Add water, stock, and corn cobs. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes.

2. After 45 minutes of simmering, add the potatoes and carrots. Bring back up to a boil and boil briskly (carefully avoiding boiling over) for about 15 minutes. Reduce to a simmer, remove cobs and check potatoes and carrots - they should be done but not totally mushy. Add corn kernels and peas and stir for about 5 minutes more. Remove from heat and let cool 15 minutes. Using an immersion blender, puree about half of the soup (don't burn yourself) in the pan, then stir to further blend. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Serve as is or with a dollop of half and half (I use fat free) to bring it all together. Great with a crusty piece of bread.

Enjoy!