Roasted Corn and Pepper Soup

Day 17: Sugar and Spice

On Monday nights I go to an aerobic kickboxing class at my gym which is conveniently located next to a Trader Joe's. This means I am totally beat but I also have the Trader Joe's right there if I need anything. Our TJ's carries a surprisingly good frozen roasted corn, so I tried a soup with it as the centerpiece. What resulted was a sort of southwestern corn soup. It was sweet and spicy (which can be mediated by using less jalapeno seeds), smooth yet chunky, and very very easy to prepare. If you had more time you could try roasting the pepper before adding:

Roasted Corn and Pepper Soup

2 tbsp canola oil

1 med red onion diced

3 jalapeno peppers, minced (seeded if desired)

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1 yellow or orange bell pepper, diced

1 tsp cumin

4 cups chicken broth

4 cups frozen roasted corn

1 cup chopped canned green chilies

1/2 cup lowfat milk

juice of 1/2 a lime

salt and pepper to taste

sliced avocado

shredded pepperjack cheese

In a large soup pot heat oil over medium high heat. Cook onion, garlic, and jalapeno peppers, stirring occasionally for 8-9 minutes until the onions are soft. Add cumin and cook for 2 minutes more. Add chicken broth, frozen corn, and green chilies and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes until everything is cooked. Reserve 2 cups of the soup and blend the rest, using and immersion blender or a food processor. Add back the reserved soup and add milk. Season with lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a garnish of sliced avocado, cheese, and a few warmed tortillas.

Jay's review:

4.5 yums (out of 5)! Smokey jalapeno!

On the Brighter Side

Day 4:

After the heaviness of yesterday's chicken and dumplings we were both craving something light and full of bright vegetables. We thought instantly of carrot soup. There are a myriad of carrot soups out there - I will surely be experimenting with many of them over the next few months. Today, I decided to follow Deborah Madison's (of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone) advice and combine the sweetness of carrot with some spice. She also recommends adding a small amount of white rice to the soup to add body and prevent the soup from separating. I did this and it did in fact keep the soup from separating in the bowl, but it also added an almost fluffy consistency to my pureed soup. I combined a few recipes to come up with this south-of-the-border inspired carrot soup. I served with simple corn quesadillas. Overall it was a very easy and quick soup to prepare, but not my favorite so far:

Spicy Carrot and Red Pepper Soup

2 tbsp olive oil

1 med onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp sweet paprika

a pinch of cayenne

2 dried bay leaves

2 tbsp white rice

1 lb carrots, peeled and diced

1 red pepper, diced

4 cups vegetable stock

salt and pepper to taste

juice of one lime

good quality pepper sauce such as cholula (optional)

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil till onions are soft. Add spices, bay leaves, and rice and cook two or three minutes more. Add chopped vegetables and stock. Bring to a boil and simmer until carrots are very soft and rice is cooked. Using an immersion blender or food processor blend the soup and add lime juice. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a garnish of cholula or tabasco if a spicier soup is desired.

Jay's review:

3.5 yums (out of 5)! Cholula made this a winner. :) 3.0 yums without Guadalajara Goodness.