Corn Garden Soup

Last night I decided to make a corn soup. And I threw just about every veggie I had in the apartment into a pot and voila! a soup! This was a very tasty and healthy soup. It had a nice sweetness from the corn and a subtle spiciness from the jalapeños. You could certainly substitute any veggies you like in this. Soups are so versatile and healthy that they're regularly a go-to meal for me when I want something healthy and comforting at the same time.

I blended part of the soup to give it a bit more substantial mouth-feel. (I thought it was almost creamy... Jeremy didn't.) I left it a bit chunky so that we had some things to chew on as we ate it. (I get bored with completely pureed soups when they're a whole meal... need something to chew!) The soup had a great orange-yellow color from the carrots, corn, and roasted red peppers. Overall, we both really liked the soup.

I served this with a honey whole wheat bread that I made in our bread machine yesterday afternoon. It added some much needed bulk to the very light soup. This will probably make a better lunch than dinner since it was so light that we were both hungry later in the evening. Jeremy even had two bowls and two pieces of bread and was still hungry! I guess that's what happens when the soup is nothing more than a big bowl of veggies. :)

This recipe made a nice big pot of soup so I have a lot of it left in the fridge. I'm looking forward to the leftovers. :)

I used chicken stock for the liquid in this soup but if you wanted it vegetarian (or just didn't have chicken stock on hand) you could certainly use vegetable stock or water. I always use low or no sodium chicken stock so that I can control the saltiness so if you're not using that, be careful of the saltiness before you add seasonings.

Recipe:

2.5 c. frozen corn kernels
4 carrots (medium), diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 jalapeños, minced
1 large onion, diced
1 tbs. minced garlic
4 c. chicken broth (low sodium)
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 bay leaf
3 roasted red bell peppers, diced
2 tbs. olive oil

1. Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add olive oil. Add celery, carrots, bell pepper, jalapeños, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies begin to soften (4-5 minutes).
2. Add the garlic and bay leaf and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
3. Add the chicken broth, corn, and the frozen corn kernels. Bring the soup to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 25-30 minutes to allow the flavors to combine.
4. Ladle some of the soup into a blender. Blend until smooth. Return the blended soup to the pot and continue blending until you're satisfied with the texture. (You could make it completely smooth if you wanted, or keep it more chunky.)
5. Taste the soup and adjust seasonings as needed. (Tasted good to me... I didn't do a thing but depends on what you want.)
6. Ladle into bowls and enjoy!