Corn and Summer Squash Chowder with Basil

I really wish I had a picture to post of this recipe, honestly. Unfortunately it is eaten and gone, and I'm still thinking about it a week later. I love corn chowder- I have for years. It is full of some of my favorite things, and whether hot or cold, it is just a comforting, soothing soup. This soup was made to use up extra CSA veggies that we had laying around. We ate it hot, but to be honest, with the combination of herbs used, I liked it better cold for lunch a couple of days later.


So, without further ado:

• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium summer squash, seeded and cut into quarters, roughly 4 cups (see directions after recipe)
• 4 small ears corn, cut off the cob (roughly 4 cups total)
• 1 reserved corn cob
• 1 pound new potatoes, chopped into small pieces
• 2 cups plain almond/soy/hemp milk
• 4 cups water
• 2 tsp herbes de Provence
• 1/2 c. basil, chopped

Directions: 

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in stock pot. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes, then garlic. Cook until onion is soft and everything is fragrant. Stir in squash and cook for another 7-10 minutes, or until squash starts soften. Add in potatoes, corn, and herbes de Provence, stir everything together, and add in liquid. Run back of a knife over corn cob to release juices and stick cob in with soup. Cover and bring to a boil, then prop lid and lower heat to maintain a steady simmer. Continue to cook soup until potatoes are tender, about 30-35 minutes. 

When potatoes are soft, remove soup from heat and carefully take out corn cob (tongs work nicely here). Ladle 3-4 cups of soup into a blender and add in chopped basil. Blend briefly (and carefully) until smooth, then return mixture back to pot. 

Serve warm with garlic bread on the side, or even better, chill entire pot of soup overnite  and serve cold the following day. 

Cooking tip: 
cooked squash  softens quite a bit, and having stringy seeds falling off the side of your spoon is not too attractive when you're trying to impress. To remove them, cut the squash in half lengthwise so that you have 'boats'. Run a spoon through the center seedy area of the squash, as if you were de-seeding a cucumber. Cut each portion in half lengthwise again, and then cut across to get quarter wedges.