Corn-off-the-Cob & New Potato Chowder (Vegan, Non-Vegan Versions)

Fresh corn is the secret ingredient in this hearty chowder, together with tender and tasty new potatoes. The new potatoes may be slightly more suitable for diabetics than the russet potatoes called for in the recipe on which this is based, "Corn-off-the-Cob Chowder." The latter appeared in the Christian Science Monitor many years back. I re-discovered it among some clippings of Mom's and decided to dust it off and dress it up for the fall.

Buttermilk, or for total vegans, soy yogurt, make the chowder smooth and rich. The original recipe was not vegetarian, but both vegetarian and non-vegetarian recipes are offered here.

Walnuts, peppers, herbs, and lime juice are also additions not in the original. Lime juice is of course a favorite for jazzing up corn. The walnuts go well with the corn and potatoes, and with the seasonings too. The potatoes are richer in lysine than either the corn or the walnuts, while the latter two both provide leucine and other amino acids, so even the totally vegetarian version of this provides the essential amino acids. The soup is also rich in vitamin C and, thanks to the buttermilk or the added calcium in soy yogurt, calcium.

Corn, Potatoes, and the White Potato Clan

The New World staple (corn) thus complements an Old World one (potatoes, which however also originated in the "New World" supposedly). Potatoes were reportedly the food of "The White Potato Clan," according to Creek lore. The story of the "White Potato Clan" is a Creek story about a place beside black waters where potatoes grew well, and where the mixed-blood children of the American Indians and their European neighbors (the latter usually of Irish, Scottish, or French descent), could live.

The problem of the mixed bloods was an interesting problem: many Native American captives preferred to remain among the Indians when offered "rescue," partly if not entirely because their children were often unwelcome among the Europeans. As the story explains, even among the Indians the mixed-bloods were not completely accepted. (For the whole story see the legend posted at Stonee's Web Lodge.)

Since "hungry logs" also lived in the black waters according to the Creeks, the home of the White Potato Clan may be somewhere in South Georgia or Florida, on the Suwanee or another river.

For Thanksgiving? For Health?

This chowder makes a great Thanksgiving weekend dish (it's a way to use up extra corn, celery, potatoes, walnuts, and stock), or even a dish for Thanksgiving Day.

Potatoes are rich in some vitamins plus may be well-tolerated by persons with some types of kidney/renal issues. The larger russet potatoes are generally starchier than the new ones, and thus the new potatoes in my version of the chowder may be a plus for diabetics seeking healthy food choices.

Besides potatoes, this soup contains corn, celery, and onions. Both celery and onions are generally well-tolerated foods for persons with kidney issues. Finally, the seaweed in the vegetarian version complements the soy in the same version, and may make it more digestible.

The Chowder Recipe: Non-Vegan and Vegan

Following are ingredients for two versions of the soup, plus steps for cooking either. The second list is a vegetarian list. The non-vegetarian version of the soup uses bacon (alternately you can use turkey bacon) as well as chicken stock. Fresh buttermilk makes it creamy. The broth for the vegan version is made, as the soup simmers, from ingredients in the soup, including psyllium seed husk fiber, olive oil, crumbled laver, and the potatoes themselves! For total vegans, soy yogurt can replace buttermilk.

Cooking and preparation time for either version is 45-50 minutes. Each version serves 3-4 generously.

Non-Vegan Recipe: Ingredients

• 1 slice bacon (turkey bacon is fine)
• 4 tbsps minced fresh cilantro, or 1 1/2 tbsps minced dried cilantro
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg (or slightly more)
• 1 tsp paprika (or slightly more)
• 1-2 tsps olive oil, and, if using turkey bacon, 2 tsps sunflower oil
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2-to-1 whole poblano pepper, washed, cored, seeded, and cut into strips
• 1/2-to-1 whole small red chili pepper, washed, cored, seeded, and cut into strips
• 1/3 cup (or slightly more) walnuts, raw, chopped
• 3 small stalks celery, minced
• 1/2 sweet onion, peeled and minced
• 1 tbsp psyllium seed husk fiber
• 3-4 new potatoes (4-5 small; 8-10 "fingerling"-sized potatoes; this equals about 1 1/2-to-2 cups potatoes when diced; choose red or gold potatoes or a mixture; "yukon gold" or "klondike rose" potatoes work just fine; you can include a purple potato in the mix but doing so will make your soup quite indigo-colored)
• 1-and-1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 tsp fresh thyme (or slightly more)
• 3 ears fresh sweet corn (bicolor corn works fine)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1-and-1/2 cups buttermilk

Vegan Recipe: Ingredients

• optionally, 2 vegetarian bacon strips (such as Worthington's "Stripples")
• 4 tbsps minced fresh cilantro, or 1 1/2 tbsps minced dried cilantro
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg (or slightly more)
• 1 tsp paprika (or slightly more)
• 2-to-3 tsps olive oil
• 2 tsps sunflower oil
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2-to-1 whole poblano pepper, washed, cored, seeded, and cut into strips
• 1/2-to-1 whole small red chili pepper, washed, cored, seeded, and cut into strips
• 1/3 cup (or slightly more) walnuts, raw, chopped
• 3 small stalks celery, minced
• 1/2 sweet onion, peeled and minced
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp psyllium seed husk fiber
• 3-4 new potatoes (4-5 small; 8-10 "fingerling"-sized potatoes; this equals about 1 1/2-to-2 cups potatoes when diced; choose red or gold potatoes or a mixture; "yukon gold" potatoes work just fine as do "klondike rose;" you can include a purple potato in the mix but doing so will make your soup quite indigo-colored)
• 1-and-1/2 cups hot water
• 2 tbsps laver (or other seaweed), rinsed with vinegar, and crumbled
• 1 tsp fresh thyme (or slightly more)
• 3 ears fresh sweet corn (bicolor corn works fine)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1-and-1/2 cups buttermilk or 8-to-12 ounces of soy yogurt, to taste

Both Recipes:Steps

1. In a large saucepot, cook the bacon over medium heat till it's crisp. Remove the bacon and drain, reserving the drippings. Set the bacon aside. Alternately, microwave the turkey bacon on high, 4-6 minutes per side, dry between paper towels, and set aside. Or, if you are using vegetarian bacon strips, microwave these on high, 2 minutes, then dry between paper towels, and set aside. (If you don't want to use bacon, even vegetarian, you can skip this step.)
2. Along with any bacon drippings (if you are using these), place in a pot all but a teaspoon of the olive oil together with any sunflower oil that your recipe calls for, plus the oregano, basil, ground coriander, half the nutmeg, half the cilantro, the juice of 1 of the limes, and finally 1 tablespoon of the vinegar.
3. Heat the oil mixture till it's good and hot.
4. Dip the pepper strips in the oil mixture, and remove them. Broil the strips in an oven about 7 minutes per side, to roast them.
5. Meanwhile, add the walnuts, onion, and celery to the oil-vinegar-herb mixture, cover, and cook till these are hot and the onion starts to get transparent.
6. Stir in a tablespoon of psyllium husk fiber, cover, and continue cooking till all fiber is blended and the onion completely transparent.
7. Dice the potatoes, and add these to the pot, adding a bit more vinegar if the mixture gets dry, and perhaps a few more drops of olive oil.
8. Cover and cook for about two-to-three minutes.
9. Add half of the chicken broth or hot water (3/4 cup; if you want a delicious stock instead, just first boil the corncobs for ten or more minutes in the hot water) to the potatoes in the pot. If you are making the vegan version of this soup, add the crushed seaweed, remaining teaspoon of psyllium husk fiber, and remaining teaspoon of olive oil here too.
10. Cover and cook until the potatoes start to get tender. (A pressure cooker works well at this point.)
11. Cut the tops of the silk fibers from the corn cobs, peel back the husks, then the threads of corn silk, and scrape the corn kernels from the cob into the pot.
12. Mince and stir in the thyme. Stir in the salt and pepper as well.
13. Mince the roasted poblano pepper strips and stir that (but not the red chili pepper) into the pot.
14. Adding a bit more chicken broth or hot water as needed, cover and continue cooking till the potatoes are completely tender.
15. At this point, you can puree a third of the mixture if you like in any remaining chicken broth (you can heat the broth till it simmers before pureeing the soup with it), and return all to the pot. If you do not puree, add the rest of the stock to the pot now.
16. Cover and simmer (do not boil) till all is hot.
17. Then stir in the remaining cilantro, reserving a bit for garnish, plus the juice of the second lime.
18. Now stir in the buttermilk or soy yogurt, along with most of the paprika. Stir well.
19. Cover and simmer (again, do not boil) for two-to-three minutes, till all is hot.
20. Crumble and stir in the bacon, if you are using it, and cover again, and simmer another two minutes, again till all is hot through and through.

Finally, ladle the soup, vegan or non-vegan, into mugs or bowls, and garnish it with minced cilantro, paprika, and minced hot red chili peppers, to taste. Serve piping hot. To make this a meal, serve it with some crusty sourdough bread and perhaps a chocolate dessert (brownies, cake, or pie, such as Stephanie Gallagher's [vegan] "Chocolate Peanut Butter Tofu Pie").

Sources

• Comas, Beatrice H. "Corn-off-the-Cob Chowder." Food. The Christian Science Monitor. (1980/98/21).
• "The White Potato Clan (Creek legend)." Lore. Stonee's Web Lodge. (Accessed 2011).