"Dishing Up"...Early Fall Corn Chowder

(The following recipe comes from the book Dishing Up Maryland, by Lucie L. Snodgrass, which happens to be the book I'm giving away to a lucky reader!  You've only got until this Friday to register to win, so what are you waiting for?  Go here for the info.)

When I received the cookbook Dishing Up Maryland as a birthday gift a couple weeks ago, I was instantly drawn to the fact that the recipes were organized by season.  What a natural way to plan meals!  Think about it - when your body is overheated and trying to stay cool in the summer, refreshing water-laden treats like cucumbers and berries are ripe for the picking.  When the cold winds of winter are bearing down on you, nature provides hearty squashes and root vegetables that will store easily far into the coldest months.  If we just take a second and think about what the Earth naturally provides for us throughout the year, we find that we've really got all we need.

So when the air turned crisp this past weekend, and the leaves started to show the first hints of opting for a more colorful wardrobe, I started flipping through the Fall section of the book.  When I saw the following recipe, I knew it was what I needed:

Early Fall Corn Chowder
(6 servings.  Prep time: 10 minutes.  Cook time: 40 minutes.)

The beginnings of an early Fall "mise en place"

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 small onion, peeled and diced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 small orange or red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 6 cups Chicken Stock or Vegetable Stock
• 4 medium potatoes, preferably Yukon Gold, peeled and diced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups local bicolor corn kernels
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1. Melt the butter in a large stockpot over low heat.  Add the onion and garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes, until soft.
2. Add the bell pepper, carrot, and thyme, and sauté for 5 minutes longer.
3. Add the stock, potatoes, salt, and pepper, and turn up the heat to medium.  Cook for 25 minutes.
4. Purée 2 cups of the corn with the half-and-half in a blender or food processor.  Pour the corn purée into the soup, along with the remaining whole kernels.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 4 minutes.
5. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top with the parsley.  Serve immediately.

*Note: I found that a dash of hot sauce (Sriracha, of course) really brightened up the flavors in this dish.  If you wanted to add a little more protein to the dish, you could try some fresh Maryland blue crab!

I really enjoyed this soup - it served as a great "crossover" dish between Summer and Fall.  The sweet corn kernels spoke of steamy Maryland Summer barbecues, while the earthy potatoes gave it a homey Fall quality.  We used homemade vegetable stock that we made about a week ago.  I highly recommend making your own stock; it sounds time consuming, but it's really not that hard to boil vegetable scraps on the stove top, and the taste is far superior to anything you'll buy in a store.  It's cost-effective, too, because you're basically getting two for the price of one when it comes to your vegetables!

This cookbook is a wonderful reminder that, wherever you live, there are always fresh, seasonal ingredients to cook with, thanks to the hardworking farmers that grow food throughout the world.  Support your local growers as much as you can!

As always, eat well.  (And don't forget to enter my giveaway!)