A CSA Share Becomes Summer Corn Chowder

I received my first share on Saturday from the CSA I belong to near my home. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. When you join a CSA, you are essentially buying a farm share. Members pay in advance for a growing season so farmers have operating capital.

During the growing season, members receive a box of produce from the CSA on a regular schedule. The produce is superior to anything you will find in a supermarket. Most likely the produce from the CSA was picked the morning you received it. Taste and freshness are the stand out qualities of locally grown produce.

If you have an opportunity to belong to a CSA or shop at a Farmer’s market, I would urge you to do so.

After I had this big bag of corn on the cob sitting on my kitchen counter, I began to think about what I could make with the corn. So summer corn chowder it was!

SUMMER CORN CHOWDER

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 leeks, white and light green sections, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 3 carrots, diced
• 1 red or orange bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
• 6 cups fresh corn kernels, divided
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
• Grated cheddar cheese, chopped chives or crumbled bacon, for garnish

Directions:

Heat the butter in a Dutch oven or large soup pot. Add the leeks, celery, carrots, bell pepper and potatoes to the pot and saute for ten minutes until soft.

Add 3 cups of the corn, the vegetable broth, chili powder and the thyme. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for an hour. Remove the thyme branches.

Remove the pot from the heat and puree the contents with an immersion blender. Add the half and half, salt and pepper to taste and the remaining 3 cups of corn.

Return the pot to the heat and simmer the soup for about 30 minutes.

Serve in individual soup bowls with any or all of the garnishes.

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Have you tried a CSA? What is your favorite thing to make with corn?

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