Sweet Corn Soup

When I was 18, back in the olden days, I took my first job away from home. It wasn't too far away from my parents house, but at about 20 miles, was far enough that, during the week, I lived in a rented room in a boarding house.



It was a huge old Victorian house with turrets and gingerbread trim. It sat on the top of a hill and was run by a little old woman called Mrs Boates. She seemed ancient to me . . . but was probably not much older than I am right now . . . funny how that goes . . . the older I get . . . the younger she seems!!



She used to serve me big bowls of hearty oats for breakfast in the mornings along with thick slabs of homemade and toasted bread. If I wasn't coming home for lunch she would make me thick sandwiches out of that same homemade bread. I could barely get through them.

On the days I came home for lunch, she always had a lovely hot meal waiting for me. Sometimes it was this delicious sweet corn chowder, all thick and tasty, along with several slices of the same homemade bread. Oh how I loved her corn chowder. Her dinners were equally as delicious . . . but to tell the truth the thing that made the most impression on me was the chowder . . .



I mean, here I am, some 37 years later, still thinking about it and remembering how very tasty it was . . . sigh . . .

When I left her home to get married, she gave me a lovely little tin recipe box filled with . . . blank cards . . . and I was so shy at the time, I would never have had the courage to ask her for the recipe. Woe is me . . . pity that . . .

I do make a rather tasty sweet-corn soup though, which comes pretty close. It uses simple ingredients and is rather healthy as well, especially if you use low fat milk to make it with. It gets it's creaminess from the creamed corn and a thickening of flour . . .



We won't talk about the cheese and the knob of butter on the top. Shhh . . . hush now.



Todd likes his with hunks of warm crusty bread, buttered. Me . . . I am afraid the Canuck in me prefers it with crisp crackers! Some things just never change.



*Sweet-Corn Soup*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Simple, filling and delicious. Perfect for these austere times we are going through too!

925ml of milk, divided (4 cups)
2 TBS finely chopped onion
1 tsp butter
2 tins (418g tins) of creamed corn (2 {14oz} tins)
2 TBS plain flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
pinch cayenne pepper
2 ounces of strong cheddar cheese, grated
Garnish:
a knob of butter
finely chopped chives

Heat the first amount of milk. Set aside and keep warm.

Saute the onion in the butter in a large saucepan until soft. Add the tins of creamed corn and the heated milk. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and cook on low for about 15 minutes. Using a stick blender or a regular blender, blitz until smooth. Whisk together the flour and remaining milk, along with the cayenne, salt and black pepper until smooth. Whisk this into the soup. Cook and stir until it thickens. Stir in the cheese until it melts and thoroughly amalgamates. Taste and adjust as needed.

Ladle into hot soup bowls. Garnish each bowl with a knob of butter and a sprinkle of chives.