September is for Soup!

I have been coughing and hacking so much in the last week that Jeannene has threatened to sleep in the guest room. I don't feel terrible, but I definitely feel like soup! Monday, I had MCL Cafeteria's vegetable soup, which I refer to as crack soup because of its addictive yumminess, with a roll and some cranberry Jell-o (my grandmom used to make me Jell-o when I was sick) for lunch and made a pot of Southwestern Corn Chowder for dinner. It was wonderful to spend time in my new kitchen chopping vegetables and enjoying the bright splash of cumin & cayenne against a white prep bowl. Jeannene was spending the night at her work-home, but got to enjoy a bowl last night when she got home. The recipe is my adaptation of a Martha Stewart recipe.

Southwestern Corn Chowder

5-6 slices bacon

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 poblano pepper, chopped

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. cumin

Pinch cayenne

1 c. dry white wine

1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled & chopped

5 cups chicken broth

Corn cut from 5 ears corn (I would have used 6, but one of my ears had gone bad) (canned or frozen corn can be subbed, but your chowder will be a different soup altogether than if you use fresh corn. If you sub, use about 3 cups of corn)

1 c. heavy cream

Hot sauce

Cook the bacon in a soup pot until crisp. Drain and crumble. Cook the onion, carrot, celery and poblano in same pot about 10 minutes over medium heat. Add seasonings. Over high heat, add wine and cook a few minutes until it is mostly evaporated. Add potatoes & broth. Bring to a boil. Simmer over medium-low heat 20 minutes. Add corn and cream. Cook 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Garnish with bacon and serve with hot sauce. If you don't hate cilantro, snip some of that over the top, too. Serves 4-6.