summer veggies

A bounty of summer vegetables is showing up here in the south, at the farmer's market, in the grocery stores, and in my garden out back.  Jim and I ate our first two beautiful Early Girl tomatoes with breakfast on  Sunday morning.  They were delicious, and put me in the mood to exploit some of the exquisitely fresh  vegetables available locally.

First order of business was to think of ways to make unusual preparations of summer vegetables.   And that made me think of soup.  People don't often think of soup in the summer, but cool, creamy soups can be an excellent way to use fresh vegetables, and a refreshingly light addition to the supper table.  I started my experimentation with a fresh corn soup served at room temperature.  When buying sweet corn, look for ears with a tight, smooth sheath of leaves that are bright green and moist.

Shucking is easiest done outside, over a sheet of newspaper that can then be wrapped around the husks and silk and tossed in the trash or the compost pile.  A simple way to remove the kernels from the cob is to split the corn crosswise in the middle, turn each section on the stable end, and run a knife down the kernels of corn.  Once all of the kernels have been removed, over a bowl, scrape the back of the knife over each cob to remove the "cream" of the corn, which is full of sweet corn flavor.

corn kernels from three ears each of fresh white and yellow corn

the "cream" from those same six cobs

My goal was to maximize the fresh corn flavor in my soup, so I pureed the "cream" in a blender, and set it aside to add at the end, uncooked.  I roughly chopped half of a sweet onion, and sauteed it in about a tablespoon of butter, just until it was translucent.

the chop needn't be precise here -- everything is going into the blender in the end

Add the corn kernels, a couple pinches of salt, and about three cups of water.  Simmer until the corn kernels are very tender, but not overcooked, about 20 minutes.  A healthy and low calorie way to make the soup creamy is the addition of some cooked rice.  One quarter cup of rice cooks up into about a cup of cooked rice.  While the corn simmered, I cooked the rice.  Once it was done, I added it to the pot.

ready for the blender

I allowed the cooked corn and rice to cool a bit, then processed it in the blender in two batches.  Processing hot food in a blender can be tricky.  The steam from the food combined with the vortex created by the blender can make food "explode" out of the container.  So, if you are going to process hot foods, be sure and leave plenty of air space in the blender.

Once the corn and onions were pureed, I pushed the liquids through a fine sieve.  The next time I make this soup, I think, instead of blending and straining it, I will put the corn through a food mill.  I think a food mill would have done a better job of creating a completely smooth soup.

Just to make the soup even a little creamier, I stirred in a couple of dollops of sour cream, along with the uncooked corn "cream".  The addition of sour cream is totally optional, but I like the tart zing that the sour cream brings to the party.  A couple of lower-calorie options would be low-fat buttermilk, or even Greek yogurt.  Topped with a bit of chopped chives and served with a thin slice of garlic toast, this summer soup was a delicious rendition of sweet corn essence.

I love the beautiful pale yellow color