Summer Corn Chowder and NEWS

I HAVE BIG NEWS! 

I've been blogging for about a year and a half now and loving every minute of it. One of the things I don't love is Blogger and my site design in general. So, starting this weekend I'll be MOVING to Wordpress! I am doing this with the help of Melissa of Fine Lime Designs - who is brilliant and wonderful and (most importantly) patient.

In one short week, I will have a snazzy new site with lots of convenient features - like printable recipes, pin it buttons, and an easy to navigate recipe index. I want to kick your Gen Y Foodie experience up a notch and make it easier to engage with the content here.

So I won't be posting here for the next week. :(

Where can you find me? I won't be going anywhere. Hit me up on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

In the meantime, email me at genyfoodie@gmail.com and tell me what sort of features and recipes you'd like to see on the new site. I am especially interested in some challenging takeout makeovers - so shoot me your suggestions.

And now it's time for the recipe....

The first corn of the summer arrived at the farmer's market this weekend and I am so excited!! I may have gone a bit overboard buying more ears than I could carry, let alone eat in a week. Regardless, after enjoying some of this tasty sweet corn on the cob, I decided to throw poor Craig a bone and make him one of his all time favorite foods: corn chowder.

Now, I have a complicated relationship with chowder (or chowda as we Bostonians call it). I generally hate it. I ate chowder for the first time when I was 25 and waiting tables at a restaurant that had great chowder so I decided to see what all the fuss was about. I wasn't impressed. As someone who only tolerates dairy, it never seemed that great to me. Craig, on the other hand, adores chowder and will eat it all year round, non stop until he makes himself sick. He has sampled every type of chowder imaginable, even in 100 degree heat! Back at Holy Cross, he would get super excited every Friday because the dining hall would serve corn chowder for lunch.

So, given the fabulous corn, potatoes, jalepenos and herbs I found at the farmer's market this weekend, I decided to give it a whirl. You can grill, roast or boil the corn - or you can throw it in raw. I recommend roasting or grilling to add more flavor and bring out its natural sweetness.

Now, I didn't set out to make this a vegan chowder - but it sort of ended up that way! I decided not to add any cream or milk because I wanted it to be light and summery. Even without any dairy, this chowder is creamy and comforting.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 celery stalks, washed and diced
1 jalapeno, washed and minced
4 cups of shucked cooked corn (approximately 6 ears)
2/3 lb fresh red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2" chunks
3 cups of low sodium veggie broth
thyme
chives

Step by Step Instructions:
1. Saute onion, celery and jalapeno in olive oil on medium heat until soft, 4-5 min
2. Add corn and saute for another 2-3 minutes
3. Add potatoes, veggie broth and thyme
4. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes
5. Using a measuring cup, remove 1 cup of chowder and puree in a food processor
6. Add puree back to pot, stir, cover and simmer for another 15 minutes
7. Serve and garnish with chives and croutons

Focaccia Croutons:
1. Cut a 6" x 6" square of focaccia into 1" chunks
2. Bake in a single layer on a cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes, until crisp