Confetti Sweet Corn Soup with Baked Tortilla Strips

Should you find yourself wandering through life as a person who relishes soup year-round {as I do} or someone who is simply getting that "is it soup season yet?" itch this time of year, my Confetti Sweet Corn Soup may be right up your alley. It really is the perfect transitional soup for the lingering weeks of summer and the early days of autumn. Sweet corn is divine this time of year. And, this soup really celebrates all that we love about corn fresh from the garden or farmer's market.

The base of the soup is a simple medley of sautéed onion, red bell pepper and jalapeño {use as much or as little per your heat preference} that gets friendly in the pot with some dried oregano, crushed red pepper flakes and salt. From there, a little sprinkling of flour helps with thickening as some good-quality chicken {or veggie} stock joins the party.  Most of the corn kernels {once removed from the raw cobs} get added right in while some get whirled up in a blender or food processor with a touch of milk before being added into the soup.

One of my secrets is to toss in a few of the stripped corn cobs while the soup simmers. This little hack brings some intense corn flavor to the party. {Just carefully remove and discard after they've done their job.}

To finish, I like to top the soup with some baked tortilla strips that are made pretty easily from soft corn tortillas, non-stick spray and a little salt. This step is totally optional {you can even utilize store-bought tortilla chips as a topper}, but they are worth the few minutes of work.

Trust me.

One thing I'd like to note is that after testing this recipe four times in the past couple of weeks, I think I've come to the conclusion that the richness and sweetness {so-to-speak} level of the end result when making this recipe seems to really depend on how sweet and intense the corn is that is used. Obviously, we all know that sweet corn can vary in taste, sweetness and even tenderness. So, there can be variations in the end flavor profile {or "corniness"} each time this soup is made based on the batch of corn one uses.

Yields 4 - 6 servings.

Potato and Sweet Corn Chowder

Tender chunks of potatoes and crisp, fresh-off-of-the-cob sweet corn come together in this thick, ultra-luxurious chowder that is just perfect for the transitional weeks between late-summer and early-fall. Sweet corn is in abundance. Many of us start experiencing cooler evenings. And, if you're anything like me, cravings for fall and soup weather creep up oh, right around mid-August. This is a great way to satisfy those yearnings.

Don't get me wrong ... this is an awesome chowder to make at any given time of the year. It's the ultimate comfort food for cold, blizzard-y evenings in say, January or ideal for lunch on a cool, rainy Sunday in April. If you can't get your hands on fresh sweet corn, frozen corn that has been thawed would be a great substitution. But, frankly, I think there's little more fabulous this time of the year than at-its-peak sweet corn. Incorporating a few ears into this chowder is highly recommended. And, don't throw out those stripped ears of corn after cutting the kernels off ... toss a few into the chowder as it cooks for extra flavor. Absolutely amazing.

Yields 4 - 6 servings.