Sweet Corn Soup

_KH10026I love soup in the summertime, especially corn soup. The corn from our farm share is extra sweet now so I decided to make Alice Water’s Sweet Corn Soup. Bubba requested the soup after the excessive heat finally let up. 80 degrees with no humidity felt cool compared to what we just dealt with the past few weeks. I served the soup at room temperature with a salad and crusty bread from our local bakery. The perfect summer meal. Our almost 3-year-old gave it a shot and liked it, but our daughter refused. I wasn’t shocked. I hope her picky stage will end soon!

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The only tweak I made to her recipe is saving the shucked corn cobs and adding them to the broth when the soup is simmering. The cobs added additional corn flavor.

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After the soup simmers for a bit, remove the cobs and puree the soup in small batches in a blender.  You can serve it warm or at room temperature but I bet it tastes good cold as well. As long as you have sweet corn, this soup won’t disappoint you.

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Sweet Corn Soup

barely adapted from Alice Water’s The Art of Simple Food

Ingredients

4 Tbsp butter

1 onion, diced

Kosher Salt

5 ears of sweet corn

1 quart of water (4 cups)

Toppings

Crème fraiche (optional) seasoned with savory herbs, salt and pepper

Chives or Scallions (optional)

Directions

Shuck the corn and cut the kernels from the cobs. Set the kernels and cobs aside.

Melt 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) of butter in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion, season with salt + pepper and cook until soft about 15 minutes. Do not let the onion brown. Add the kernels to the onions and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Cover with 1 quart of water (4 cups). Add the cobs and bring to a boil. After it reaches a boil, lower the heat to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and puree the soup in small batches. (Be careful when blending hot soup in a blender. Be sure there is an air vent to allow the steam to escape.) Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add suggested toppings if desired and enjoy!

Crisp Yeasted Waffles with Blueberry Maple Syrup

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The kids requested waffles for breakfast one night during dinner.  They were already thinking about their next meal as they slowly picked at the meal I just made for them. I agreed to make waffles  the next morning. Typically, I use a pre-mixed waffle and pancake mix which is quick an easy for me but the waffles never come out that great. They are tasteless and soggy. I like a flavorful, crisp waffle. A few months ago, I purchased Aida Mollenkamp’s Keys to the Kitchen. It is a great reference cookbook for home cooks. In the breakfast section she has a recipe for Crisp Yeasted Waffles. I have never made a yeasted waffle. I didn’t know such a thing existed. The recipe requires more planning because you make the batter the night before and then let it rise overnight in the fridge but it is worth the wait. The waffles have a crispy exterior, a soft, chewy interior and a slight nutty flavor because I used half whole wheat flour. They taste amazing! This is the kind of recipe that would be great to make the night before a holiday like, Christmas.

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Now these beauties just needed a topping. Mollenkamp’s cookbook suggests a cocoa whipped cream which sounds amazing but I opted for fresh blueberry maple syrup. I love blueberry season and the berries we get from our farm share are so sweet.

_KH10004The recipe I used is very quick and simple.

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The syrup takes less than 10 minutes to throw together. Pour it on top of the waffles and dig in!_KH10085

This recipe was kid approved. I’ll have to try it again to see if it is Bubba approved.

Crisp Yeasted Waffles With Blueberry Maple Syrup

barely adapted from Aida Mollenkamp

makes about 12 waffles

Ingredients

2 cups of whole milk

1 tbsp sugar

21/4 tsp of active dry yeast

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

6 tbsp unsalted butter melted

2 large eggs, beaten

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 tsp kosher salt

Directions

Heat the milk over low heat in a medium sauce pan for about 5 minutes or until it reached 100 to 115 degrees. Remove milk from heat and pour into a bowl. Add sugar and yeast and set aside until the mixture bubbles. (If the mixture does not bubble the yeast has expired or the milk was not at the right temperature.)

Place flours in a large bowl. (Bowl should be big enough for the mixture to double in size.) Add milk mixture, melted butter and vanilla. Whisk until thoroughly combined and smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours.

When you are ready to make the waffles, remove the batter from the fridge and whisk in eggs and salt. Bring to room temperature while you heat the waffle maker, about 15 minutes or so. A little longer is ok too.

While the waffle batter comes to room temperature, make your maple blueberry syrup.

Cook waffles until golden brown about 4 to 5 minutes for each waffle. You can put the waffles on a baking sheet in a 200 degree oven while you make the rest. Top waffles with maple blueberry syrup and enjoy!

Maple Blueberry Syrup

by Aida Mollenkamp

Ingredients

3 cups blueberries

1 cup maple syrup

Directions

Mix syrup and 11/2 cups of blueberries in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook about 2 minutes until berries have softened and then mash with the back of your spoon. Simmer for about 2 minutes longer. remove from heat and add the rest of the blueberries. This will be good with waffles, pancakes and French toast.