Sweet Corn & Poblano Chile Chowder

Sweet Corn & Poblano Chile Chowder

What I love most about this chowder is its golden yellow hue and full sweet taste of fresh corn just of the cob. Over many summers of fresh corn bounty, I have explored every way imaginable to obtain a more pronounced corn taste in my corn soups, and the method presented here is “numero uno” thus far.

It is also perhaps the easiest method, as it involves pureeing the corn kernels with stock before the cooking begins. Thus, there is no scalding, dripping soup to ladle into a processor. In addition, this method allows for both a puree of corn, corn kernels, and a variety of colorful, perfectly cooked diced vegetables, which really enliven the whole effect.

Filed Under: Autumn Leaves, Soups | Bisques | Chilis Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
September 12, 2010 By 20 Comments

Kicky Tomato Strawberry Gazpacho

Kicky Tomato Strawberry Gazpacho

If you’ve been following along with me this summer, you know I am enthralled with the tomato and strawberry flavor pairing. Earlier, I created Fresh Strawberry-Tomato Dessert Sauce to accompany Heavenly Parmesan Sour Cream Pound Cake. It was a surprise hit. I have to explore at least a couple more strawberry-tomato dishes before the summer season is over.

While pondering what to cook next and flagging from the 90+ degree heat wave that hit Seattle this week, the inevitable happened. I opened the oh-so-wonderfully-cold frig and saw, at eye level, a large bowl of strawberries alongside a large bowl of grape tomatoes, both of which were intended for salad.

Filed Under: Appetizers, Recipes, Soups | Bisques | Chilis, Strawberries, Summer Sizzle Tagged With: , , , , , ,
August 17, 2010 By 7 Comments

Creamy Romaine Soup with Summer Herb Butter & Garlic Croutons

Creamy Romaine Soup with Herb Butter & Garlic Croutons

When we are in Portland, Oregon and heading out on foot to dinner in town, Wildwood in the Northwest district is always at the top of our list of fave destinations. It’s a lovely mile walk, or if we are feeling exceptionally lazy, we can hop the streetcar almost to the front door. (You might have seen my earlier article on Wildwood titled, Sweet Briar Farms Pork Chop with Bodacious Corn Hush Puppies. Just looking at the photo of that amazing dish makes me go weak at the knees.)

Filed Under: Dining, Portland, Soups | Bisques | Chilis, Summer Sizzle Tagged With: , , , , ,
August 7, 2010 By 9 Comments

Roasted Garlic & Sunchoke Soup with Rosemary Hazelnut Pesto & Goat Cheese Crèma

Roasted Garlic & Sunchoke Soup with Rosemary Hazelnut Pesto & Goat Cheese

The freshly dug sunchokes (also called Jerusalem artichokes) look so tender and crisp in Northwest farmers markets right now, I couldn’t resist buying several pounds last week–even though I wasn’t sure what I would do with them. My cookbook, Pacific Northwest Palate, Four Seasons of Great Cooking, features a sunchoke pancake, but other than that, I really haven’t given this vegetable its fair due over the years.

Filed Under: Soups | Bisques | Chilis, Spring Fever Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
March 23, 2010 By 11 Comments

Green Chile Chowder with Yellow Finn Potatoes & Italian Kale

Green Chile Chowder with Yellow Finn Potatoes and Italian Kale

We settled into our Portland city digs for a few weeks, and one of the first things we did was hike over to the Portland Farmers Market. To tell you that the market was glorious yesterday morning is to be guilty of careless understatement. It was over-the-top magnificent! Peppers, peppers everywhere, in every color and every shape imaginable, freshly dug potatoes, heaps of various types of kale, a colorful abundance of winter squash, dozens of varieties of apples and pears, wild mushrooms, and the last of 3 varieties of fresh corn. My mind was reeling with the possibilities. But what should I cook?

Filed Under: Autumn Leaves, Soups | Bisques | Chilis Tagged With: , , , , ,
October 25, 2009 By 16 Comments

Curried Tomato & Red Lentil Soup

Curried Tomato and Red Lentil Soup

Red lentils are wonderful legumes. They look as good as they taste—something of a feat for a member of the legume family. This soup is a casual meal in a bowl, with layers of flavor, heat, and spice—plus a nice balance between the sweetness of the vegetables and the acidity of the lemon juice and sour cream. It tastes best if made a day or two ahead, but we can never wait.

Filed Under: Soups | Bisques | Chilis Tagged With: , , , ,
March 12, 2009 By 7 Comments

Curried Sweetpotato, Ginger, & Coconut Bisque

Curried Sweetpotato, Ginger & Coconut Bisque

Today, sweetpotatoes have a respected place in the LunaCafe kitchen. I have learned to use their inherent sweetness, creaminess, richness, and gorgeous color as a foil for numerous complimentary ingredients, particularly bold, spicy, and acidic counterparts. When a savory sweetpotato dish fails, it is usually because of blandness and sweetness that are not balanced with sufficient acid. I rarely buy a bag of sweetpotatoes without also thowing in a couple of juicy limes or a bottle of fresh, acidic apple cider — both are perfect sweetness balancers, and add interesting and complementary flavors as well.

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
October 24, 2008 By 7 Comments

Fresh Corn & Chipotle Soup with Prawn, Avocado, & Lime Escabeche

Corn and Chipotle Soup

For this early Fall soup, I decided to keep the focus on the corn. It’s all too easy to overwhelm the sweet, subtle flavor of corn with other more assertive ingredients. By keeping the more assertive flavors separate, as in the accompanying escabeche, the contrasting flavors do a little jig on the palate, taking turns on center stage–rather than melding together in an incomprehensible mash.

Filed Under: Fall, Soups Tagged With: , , ,
September 13, 2008 By 2 Comments
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