September 5, 2009: Corn chowder

After a delay brought on by our northern jaunt and then a work trip each, we're finally getting back to cooking all of the entries in our 800th post giveaway. And we'd better hurry, if Saturday's 29 degrees is any sign of what's to come.

Ashley offered up a couple of soups, and we decided to make the corn chowder, just to try something a bit different. It was relatively simple, although the creamed corn looks so unappetising as to almost put me off the whole thing. I got through it though, and even managed to perform passably with my stick blender (last time I sprayed half the kitchen with broccoli soup), resulting in a creamy, corny soup, that had enough spicy flavours to be enjoyable for a few meals in a row. The garam masala in particular added a pleasant depth to the soup's flavours. We veganised the recipe, using soy milk for creaminess and sprinkling with our vegan parmesan to finish things off.

Corn chowder a la Ashley
- 1 onion, chopped finely
- 2 medium potatoes, cubed
- 1 small can creamed corn
- 1.5 cups fresh/frozen corn
- 1-2 cups vegie stock
- salt, pepper, paprika and garam masala to taste
- 1/2 cup soy milk

Cook the onions and cubed potatoes in a big pot until they start to soften. Add in the creamed corn and the fresh corn, stir things through and then add the stock and spices. Simmer for 10 minutes or so and blend everything up with a stick blender (or in a food processor), add the milk and serve (preferably with some Dench bread on the side).