Roasted Corn Chowder with Home Made Croutons

It's the magical time of year when sweet corn is in abundance at every corner!  In a frantic attempt to use up the overload of sweet corn in our refrigerator, I made up this recipe, and received rave reviews from my husband and my taste buds.  Really, I think you can make this with any combination of veggies you have on hand along with the corn. 

Additionally, we had some 1 or 2 day old baguette left over, and I made my own croutons with it.  It's so simple!  Just cube into the size you desire, put in a 9x13 pan, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little basil and oregano, and mix well.  You can even throw in some chopped fresh garlic if you like.  Make extra because you're going to eat a handful before you even sit down for dinner... you're not fooling anyone.

Ingredients

4 ears of sweet corn, cleaned
1 green pepper roughly chopped
2 large baking potatos, pealed and cubed
3 large carrots, pealed and roughly chopped
1 onion
3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
8 cups veggie stock (more or less depending on your desired consistency)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup milk (or half and half, if you're feeling naughty)
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

To remove kernals of corn from the cob, first shuck the corn.  Make sure you get as much of the silk off as possible (rubbing the corn with a clean, dry cloth can help with this).  Cut one of the ends of the corn off so that you create a flat edge, if there isn't already one.  Put corn flat side down in a large bowl or dish (I use a 9x9 pan for this).  Cut the kernels off of the cob by sliding the knife as close to the cob as you can.  Reserve the cobs for later in the recipe.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium to medium high heat.  Add corn and cook for 5-10 minutes.  Add the chopped green pepper and cook until the corn is lightly browned.  Season with salt and pepper

In the mean time, in a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat a tablespoon of olive oil.  Add onions, and cook for 5-10 minutes.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook for a minute or two longer-- just enough to get hot and begin to cook (I never like to fry garlic very long, as burning it leads to bitterness).  Add stock, potatoes, carrots, basil, and oregano, and kernel-less corn cobs (they add a lot of corn flavor), and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, and simmer gently.  When veggies are cooked, add the roasted sweet corn mixture.  Cook for 5 minutes longer.  Remove corn cobs.  Stir in milk (or half and half).  Season as desired with salt and pepper.  Serve with home made croutons.