Salmon, Vegetable and Cheese Chowder

Every now and then, even in summer, we love to eat comfort food like soup or chowder.  This chowder satisfies the need of eating something wholesome and relatively easy to prepare.  Not too mention a way to use fresh corn that is in season.

I served this with slices of sourdough bread along with butter and considered dinner accomplished :)

Salmon, Vegetable and Cheese Chowder

Serves 4 to 6


1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 medium russet potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cubed
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/4 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
4 cups chicken stock or broth
1 cup half-and-half or milk
1 cup flaked cooked salmon
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese or a combo of Cheddar and Monterey Jack
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Freshly ground pepper to taste

In a large soup pot over high heat, bring vegetables, garlic, rice and 3 cups of the stock to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until vegetables and rice are tender, about 20 minutes.

Transfer to a food processor and blend in batches until slightly chunky.  Return to soup pot.  Stir in remaining 1 cup stock, half-and-half, salmon, cheese, salt, thyme, and pepper.  Simmer, uncovered, until cheese melts and flavors are blended, about 10 minutes.


Source:  The Big Book of Soups and Stews by Maryana Vollstedt

Shrimp, Potato, and Corn Chowder

The summer almost ends, in a few weeks we'll begin new days with shorter days and cooler temperatures.  Between entertaining my son from summer boredom, I'm also keeping up my personal blog with my vacation stories.  Prior to writing those stories, I also have to edit numerous photos from the trip.  Sometimes when it's too overwhelming, I take a break.  Some breaks are short, reading magazines or books, biking with my son; some breaks are long, canning blueberry pie filling and blackberry-chocolate sundae topper.  I still have bags of blueberries, safely frozen in the freezer, waiting for me to make use of them creatively.

There's already a box of freestone peaches that need tending, as I'm planning to can them as well.  I'm still debating whether to can all of them as fruit in juices, or to make some preserves, peaches pie filling, peaches preserves, or peaches ice cream.  I know, I know, the list is long, the time is short, I just need to make up my mind soon before the peaches go bad.

That got me thinking, what else is there to eat while we're at the season's transition?  Fresh corns.  Since there's plenty of corns still available in the market, I want to utilize them for my dinner this week.  Fresh corns are juicy, sweet, and flavorful, the best way to eat them in my opinion is boiling or grilling them until they are tender and slab them with butter and a bit of salt.  Back in Indonesia, grilled corns are flavored with many sauces.  You want sweet, salty, spicy, with barbecue sauce?  You can have it all.  But I'm not posting a recipe about grilled corns this time.  My mind wandered to soup.  Corn and potato chowder to be exact, because even though it is a soup dish, it doesn't have to have many ingredients in it.  With garlic, leeks, potato, milk, and cream, the soup is delicious.  If you use bi-color corns, the soup will look fantastic, and you could omit the shrimp to make it a vegetarian soup.  Give me a bowl of soup and crusty bread, I'm ready to sit and eat.  This is something comforting to make as I get ready to welcome the fall season.

Shrimp, Potato, and Corn Chowder

Serves 4-6



1 1/4 lbs. medium shrimp

3 corncobs, husks and silks removed

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 leeks, white part only, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 1/4 lbs. potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup cream

Pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-parsley



Peel and devein the shrimp, then chop into 1/2-inch pieces.

Cut the kernels from the corncobs.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the leeks.  Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until soft and lightly golden.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then add the corn, potatoes, stock, and milk.

Bring to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft but not mushy.  Remove the lid and simmer for another 10 minutes.  Reduce the heat to low.  Put 2 cups of the soup in the blender and blend until very smooth.

Return the blended soup to the saucepan and add the shrimp.  Increase the heat to medium and simmer for 2 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.  Stir in the cream, cayenne pepper, and 1 tablespoon of the parsley.  Season to taste with salt, then serve garnished with the remaining parsley.



Source:  adapted from Bowl Food by Katy Scarlett