"Cooking with the [Grateful] Dead" & "Eat, Drink, and Be Kinky [Kinky Friedman]" - The Best Black Bean Burrito in the World and Popeye Salad

Date I made these recipes:  August 17, 2014

Cooking with the Dead – Recipes and Stories from Fans on the Road (with the band, The Grateful Dead) by Elizabeth Zipern

Published by: St. Martin's Paperbacks

ISBN:  0-312-95483-2; copyright 1995

Purchased at Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, NYC

Recipe:  The Best Black Bean Burrito in the World – p. 103

Eat, Drink, and Be Kinky – A Feast of Wit and Fabulous Recipes for Fans of Kinky Friedman by Mike McGovern; Introduction by Kinky Friedman

Published by:  Simon & Schuster

ISBN:  0-684-85674-3

Purchased at Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, NYC

Recipe:  Popeye Salad – p. 39

"...By the time we got to Woodstock, we were a half a million strong,

and everywhere there was song and celebration..."

from the song, Woodstock, written by Joni Mitchell, sung by Joni and also covered by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, ©1970, Reprise Records

In general, watching CNN tends to drive me a little batty, but I do give them major props for their series, The Sixties, that covers a whole host of topics and events of note from the era, including Woodstock, a three day (music festival) bash on Max Yasgur's farm in White Lake, NY near Woodstock, NY. 

This past weekend (August 15-18) marks the 45^th anniversary of Woodstock – Holy Hannah, time has flown! Some of the finest musical acts of the 60's and beyond played Woodstock, including: The Grateful Dead, subject of today's cookbook selection; Jefferson Airplane; The Who; Canned Heat; Jimi Hendrix; The Band; Joe Cocker; Janis Joplin; Melanie (Lay Down – Candles in the Rain is a favorite)...and on and on and on.  I could cry at how awesome of a list this is!

Probably the most memorable and best known member of The Grateful Dead was Jerry Garcia who played guitar and vocals.  Interesting Factoid:  "Cherry Garcia," named after Jerry Garcia, is still one of the most popular Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavors ever.  Jerry, along with Bob Weir, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Phil Lesh and Bill Kreutzmann were the founding members of this group that played a pretty eclectic mix of music –  rock, blues, bluegrass – you name it, they included it in their music.  Drummer Mickey Hart, eventually joined the group and played with them for many years before starting a solo career.  I remember best his CD, Planet Drum. Other members of The Grateful Dead were Tom Constanten, Keith Godchaux, Donna Godchaux, Robert Hunter, Brent Mydland and Vince Welnick. 

All members of The Grateful Dead were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 along with other powerhouse musicians and bands such as: Elton John; The Band; The Animals (hubby's favorite band); John Lennon and Rod Stewart. Rounding out the inductee class were Duane Eddy (guitarist who put the "twang" in the rock and roll sound), Johnny Otis (bandleader - R&B) and Willie Dixon (songwriter - R&B). 

Let me tell you, I could spend all day looking at all the inductees on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's website, it's just that fun.  And speaking of time-wasters, a couple months back, I saw a very brief clip of The Grateful Dead in concert on TV but of course, I failed to make note of the song they were singing and which I loved.  So today, while looking up information about The Grateful Dead, I decided to see if I could figure it out and boy, there goes a good couple of hours of my life I'll never get back!  The Grateful Dead's song list is quite extensive and I gave up after listening to about 12 or so.  Still, I will tackle it again some day as I am determined to figure this out.  It may just not happen in my lifetime, that's all.

Anyway, CNN's last installment of The Sixties was called "Sex, Drugs, Rock 'N Roll" and let me tell you, Woodstock was the embodiment of that title.  Alas, or maybe "to my parent's relief," I was too young (age 11) to attend Woodstock and so videos as well as music CD's are going to have to do the trick and go where no "Ann" has gone.  And although I am not a betting woman, I can say with reasonable certainty that I could bet the farm ( as in Max Yasgur's farm) that even if I had been old enough or even in the vicinity of the music festival, my dad would have had a billy fit if I would have wanted to go.  And so it was a no go and that's a bummer, man.

As to The Grateful Dead, I am not among the "Deadheads," i.e. major fans/followers (stalkers?) of the Dead but I do like some of their songs.  I think if I had to declare a favorite, it would be "Ripple," which just tugs at me every time I hear it.  Favorite line is "Let there be songs to fill the air."  Amen, brothers.

And so speaking of "Deadheads," author Elizabeth Zipern "spent nearly five years following the dead" and recreates a lot of foods that The Grateful Dead, the Deadheads and other "crunchy granola" lovers would have eaten back in the day.  Actually, what goes around, comes around and so many of the foods of that generation are coming back into popularity – tofu, tempeh, lots of vegetables and even some fruit smoothies.  But alas, kids, can I just share my disappointment/slight disbelief that there is not a pot brownie recipe in sight?  Not that I'd make it or anything but pul-lease this IS the Grateful Dead we're talking about.  Sex?  Drugs?  Rock 'n Roll? Check, check, triple check! So I'm going to have to ding the author for that little oversight.  (Although for all we know, the publisher hit the ceiling and said "Oh hell to the no!" or whatever it is publishers say.)

There were a lot of good-sounding recipes in this book but I decided upon "The Best Black Bean Burrito in the World" and am glad I did.  It's all vegetarian (and if you omit the cheese, vegan) and we felt so healthy eating it!  And given the amount of garlic (3-6 cloves??) we should feel healthy because heck, if garlic doesn't kill what ails you, then nothing will.

Because of the garlic, you may be tempted to skip making the Pico de Gallo but go ahead, live dangerously and make it anyway.  It's very tasty although my preference would have been to substitute white onion for yellow.  Just a taste thing.

And if recipes aren't quite your thing – WHAT? – then take in the stories and the photos – what a hoot!

And speaking of "hoot," the second featured cookbook is Eat, Drink and Be Kinky – A Feast of Wit and Fabulous Recipes for Fans of Kinky Friedman. I'm guessing that the vast majority of you are saying "Kinky WHO?" and that's okay.  Kinky flew under my radar for a long time and I couldn't tell you when or even how I came to know of him but much like The Grateful Dead, he's sort of an institution – part comedian, part storyteller, part singer, part politician all rolled into one.  Although he's best known in Texas, word spreads and pretty soon we were all getting our Kinky on. ;) 

Kinky, who is 69, is quite the character.  He ran as an independent candidate for the office of Texas governor (and lost), was in the Peace Corps for a couple of years and hilariously (at least to me) was a member of a fraternity in college.  I'm not seeing it.  He's perhaps most known for his song, "They Ain't Makin' Jews like Jesus Anymore," a riff on racisim and bigotry.  Kinky's band was called Kinky Friedman and The Texas Jewboys; fear not, folks, Kinky is Jewish.  The band's name is hilarious. I love it. 

Like Cooking with the Dead, this book contains great Kinky quotes and great recipes (alas, no pictures).  I was "this close" to making a watermelon salad with vodka to go with the burritos and even contemplated "Saddle Up Burritos" (something my dad always said) before landing on "Popeye Salad" which is as close as I can come right now to an ode to the late actor, Robin Williams, who passed away last week.  The movie Popeye, staring Robin, is one of my husband's favorites and so he picked this salad with that in mind.  Although Robin Williams was not a true "child" of the 60's (he was born in 1951), he just seemed like he would have made the perfect hippie.  He was all about love but unfortunately, he was also all about drugs and alcohol and struggled with them for most of his adult life.  He was brilliant though, even when he was as sober as a judge. As Robin himself used to say – "Peace out!"  He is missed.

Now, you may think that between these two recipes, black bean burritos with homemade Pico de Gallo and Kinky's salad that I would be on vegetable overload but I'm not.  In fact, I'm kind of on a roll.  Better late than never, right?  That said, the next couple of recipes I intend to make might take me slightly off-course so I have to reevaluate things.  While I'm at it, I'm going to challenge myself to see if I can find one recipe without a chili pepper in it; I'm 3 for [the last] 3 recipes so we'll see.

So one last thing:  I found these two cookbooks on my recent visit in July at Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks in the West Village (NYC).  When I finally decided on my purchases, Bonnie tapped a fingernail on my stack and said something like "You manage to find cookbooks (like Cooking with the Dead and Eat, Drink and Be Kinky) that nobody else ever finds."  I told her their loss was my gain.  Bonnie has great cookbooks and it's not like they are hidden so I don't get it but let me tell you, I was downright giddy when I found these books.  And now they are mine, all mine – bwahahahahahahaha!  (And by the way, she could not have said anything that tickled me more because I do think I have an eye for finding great books like this for my collection.)

 

The Best Black Bean Burrito in the World – serves 4

Filling

1 cup long-grain white rice

2 cups cooked or 1 can black beans (Ann's Note:  if using black beans, you might want to rinse them first—at least that's what I've read)

36 medium cloves fresh garlic

2 or 3 T. sweet basil

Sea salt, to taste

2 T. olive oil

Pico de Gallo

3 fresh roman tomatoes diced chunky

2 yellow onion, diced chunky (Ann's Note:  I think you'd also get great taste by using a white onion)

1 jalapeno pepper, diced chucky

¼ cup cilantro, minced

2 T. lemon juice

1 T. vinegar

Toppings

4 12-inch tortilla shells

Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Lettuce, shredded

Pico de Gallo, homemade

Sour cream

Start by boiling the rice.  Add black beans, fresh-minced garlic, basil, sea salt, olive oil, and mix.  Let the spices blend in. Put the mixture down the center of a 12-inch tortilla shell and roll up.  Top with cheese, lettuce and pico de gall. 

To make the pico de gallo:  Dice up the vegetables.  Add cilantro, a little lemon juice, and a touch of vinegar to keep it preserved.

Popeye Salad – serves 4

The Dressing

2 tablespoons honey

2 scallions, minced

2 large white mushrooms, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon rice vinegar, or to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

The Salad

2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 cup julienned red and yellow peppers

½ cup diced carrot

½ cup stemmed spinach leaves, washed, patted dry, and torn into bite-size pieces

½ cup thinly sliced peeled jicama

Ann's Note:  if you are lucky enough to live near a Trader Joe's, they have a great little veggie try that continues slices of jicama, baby carrots, grape tomatoes and snap peas.  I used all but the snap peas in this recipe.

Prepare the dressing:  Heat the honey in a saucepan until warm.  Add the scallions, mushrooms, garlic, and pepper flakes, and simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the mustard, vinegar, and black pepper to taste.  Let cool.

Prepare the salad:  In a medium bowl, toss together the tomatoes, peppers, carrot, spinach, and jicama.  Add the dressing and toss gently to combine.

"Mixt Salads" - Siam (Salad) - Gulf Shrimp with Mango and Green Papaya (Oh, so good!)

Date I made this recipe:  August 11, 2014

Mixt Salads – A Chef's Bold Creations by Andrew Swallow with Ann Volkwein

Published by: Ten Speed Press

ISBN:  978-1-58008-057-6

Purchased at:  Hennepin  County Used Book Library Sale

Recipe:  Siam – Gulf Shrimp with Mango and Green Papaya – p. 119-120

I don't know why, but it often takes my brain a while to start craving fresh vegetables and green, leafy salads, usually (and regrettably) about the time that the "growing" season ends.

Not so this year.

In the blink of an eye, I got my "I have GOT to have a salad" groove on thus, Mixt Salads.  But wouldn't you know, the salad I chose didn't have a green leaf in sight, instead utilizing fresh mangoes and papaya and herbs. Oh, and shrimp.  (I love shrimp).  And the hilarious and ironic thing is that this salad was included in the book's "Winter" section.  I did not want to wait that long.  But come winter, when I'm cursing Nature for dropping all that white stuff otherwise known as "snow" on us, I may have to bite the bullet and make this salad again as it was just that good.

First, there's the very yummy marinade made with orange juice, jalapenos, garlic, ginger and ground pepper.  Never mind the salad, give me these marinated shrimp any day!  And I must confess that I didn't grill the shrimp as instructed because the shrimp I bought were too small for the grill and I couldn't find the grill pan so I sautéed the shrimp in the marinade for a couple of minutes until the shrimp was cooked and wow – fabulous!  I feel a new party appetizer coming on....  (Please note that you need to marinade for four hours before cooking.)

The shrimp are placed on a salad of daikon radish, mangoes, papaya, red pepper, shallots and herbs and there are instructions for plating the salad so it looks like the beauty shot on page 118.  And the beauty shot is great but let's get real:  put it all in a bowl and toss it.  No fuss, no muss, no bother. 

The instructions also call for julienned slices of mango and papaya and yes, we have a mandolin (not the instrument mandolin, but a kitchen mandolin) but again, I'd have to take time out to find it and assemble it and besides, I manage a pretty decent julienne all by myself, thank you!  Besides, slicing, dicing and chopping are my idea of relaxation and I was in a "relaxing" kind of mood.  (The other reason to avoid a mandolin is that it can cause serious hand-harm if used incorrectly! Let's just say the blade is very sharp.  Very.)

So once you slice and dice and grill and whatnot, you add the dressing and then you can top the thing off with Chipotle Honey.  And don't you know, I had one chipotle chili left in my refrigerator.  Reuse, recycle!

Now I've said before that I am rather a woos when it comes to heat (of the chili pepper kind) and this dish had enough heat without the addition of the chipotle honey as it called for 1 ½ teaspoons of minced Thai bird chili and the marinade contained 2 tablespoons of jalapeno.  So true confession:  I deliberately shopped for the tiniest Thai chili I could find and since I lived to tell about it, I'm thinking that was just the right amount.  Because 1 ½ teaspoons is asking for it and you heard it here first.  But kudos to those whose palate (and stomach) can take the heat!  Yes, I know—"if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen," but I stayed in and braved the chili heat and then cursed myself for not wearing gloves as I felt the sting of the chilies the rest of the night.  Serves me right.

Now, not that this book didn't have a ton of delicious looking and sounding recipes but honestly, now that I made this recipe, all the other ones pale in comparison.  This is not necessarily a bad thing for me, considering I only make one recipe per book featured in this blog but you should go where no other blogger has gone and make something else so that you, too, can get your salad fix on. 

PS—I was also in a noodle kind of mood so I made some (cold) rice noodles to go with this salad.  You might want to follow suit.

PS2—And one more thing:  shout out to Ann Volkwein, who worked on this book with author, Andrew Swallow.  I met Ann several years ago in NYC and almost worked with her on a dining guide for Minneapolis and St. Paul.  Alas, it did not come to pass but I always get excited when I see her name on a cookbook.

Siam (Salad) – Gulf Shrimp with Mango and Green Papaya – serves 4

For the marinade

2 cups fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons chopped jalapeno pepper

3 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic

3 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger

Freshly ground black pepper

20 large fresh Gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined

For the dressing

¼ cup fresh lime juice

1 ½ teaspoons minced Thai bird chile

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon fish sauce

½ teaspoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic

1 tablespoon minced lemongrass

1 teaspoon sugar

½ cup canola oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup unsalted peanuts (optional)

For the chipotle honey

2teaspoons chopped canned chipotle chili

¾ cup honey

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salad

1 daikon radish, diced

2 mangoes, cored, peeled and julienned

1 green papaya, peeled, seeded, and julienned

1 red bell pepper, finely diced

2 shallots, finely diced

Leaves from 1 bunch cilantro

1 bunch basil, chiffonaded

1 bunch mint, chiffonaded

To make the marinade, combine the orange juice, jalapeno, garlic, ginger, and 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a bowl.  Add the shrimp and let marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours.

To make the dressing, combine the lime juice, chile, vinegar, fish sauce, soy sauce, garlic, lemongrass, and sugar in a blender.  Slowly add the canola oil in a stream, and blend until emulsified.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 300F (for the peanuts) and the grill to high.

Spread the peanuts on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 15 minutes.  Let cool, then chop and set aside.

To make the chipotle honey, add the honey and the chipotle chile to a blender and pulse to combine.  Set aside.

Remove the shrimp from the marinade, season with salt and pepper, and grill for 4 to 5 minutes, or until opaque, flipping once.  (Ann's Note:  I sautéed the shrimp for a couple of minutes in the marinade instead of grilling them.)

Ann's Note: To make the salad you can follow the author's directions below or combined all the ingredients except the chipotle honey in a bowl, toss and then drizzle the honey on top of each plate to taste.  Add peanuts if desired.  It has the same effect as following the directions below but with a lot less fuss.

To plate each serving, combine ¼ daikon, 1 cup mango, 1 cup papaya, 3 tablespoons bell pepper, 1 tablespoon shallot, 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, 2 tablespoon basil and 2 teaspoons mint with 2 ½ tablespoons of the dressing.  Place 5 shrimp on top, garnish with 2 tablespoons of the roasted peanuts, and drizzle with 1 ½ teaspoons of the chipotle honey.

"The Athlete's Palate" (by Runners World magazine) and "Sweet Corn Spectacular" - Orange Cumin-Glazed Pork Tenderloin and Roasted Corn Chowder

Date I made these recipes:  August 3, 2014

The Athlete's Palate Cookbook – Renowned chefs, delicious dishes, and the art of fueling up while eating well by Yishane Lee and the Editors of Runner's World®; foreword by Mark Bittman

Published by:  Rodale

ISBN:  978-1-60529-578-7

Purchased at Arc's Value Village Thrift Stores

Recipe:  Orange-Cumin Glazed Pork Tenderloin – p. 114

Sweet Corn Spectacular by Marie Porter

Published by:  Minnesota Historical Society Press

ISBN:  978-0-87351-892-5

Purchased at:  Half Priced Books Tent Sale

Recipe:  Roasted Corn Chowder – p. 66-67

So a couple of months back, my husband, a biking aficionado, got the bright idea that if riding a couple 200K bike rides was good, a 300K (185 miles) bike ride was better!

We are both here to tell you that this was not exactly a great idea.  In fact, it could have been disaster.  It wasn't, but we're both going to file that under "Don't do this again – ever" and leave it at that.

Because folks, here's the thing:  this 185 mile bike ride took 16 hours, 15 of which were in "the saddle" and maybe an hour or so was allotted to rest stops.  That's just cuckoo crazy!  Fifteen hours doing nothing but riding a bike – say what?  My butt hurts thinking about that.  The ride started at dawn-o-clock and he finished up around 11:30 p.m.  I was a tad nervous about him riding in the dark and so when he called me to say he was back at his car, I was relieved and so was he! 

Now, unlike Andy, I like to go for a walk rather than ride a bike but even then, I don't think I've ever logged 185 miles per year.  Not even half that.  So the effort is commendable to be sure.

So...what to feed an athlete about to do "battle" with his bike?  Well, for a wide variety of recipes, some geared for training, some geared for recovery, you should look to The Athlete's Palate Cookbook, published by Runner's World® magazine.  I earmarked several recipe selections to make for my crazy man and he decided that the pork with cumin glaze was the one he wanted.  I might have steered him in that direction by telling him that we already had leftover chipotles in adobo sauce but then again, he's a man who knows his own mind and his own palate so pork it was!   But you should know several other worthy recipes await.  

In addition to great-looking (and tasting) recipes, this book is filled with bios of all the renowned chefs, many of them athletes in their own right, who contributed to this book such as:  Mark Bittman; Patricia Wells; Cat Cora; Hubert Keller and Dan Barber.  Even local Minneapolis chef, Vincent Francoual, of Vincent A Restaurant, is featured – www.vincentarestaurant.com.  But don't discount the other chefs in the book, some of whom are well-known at the restaurants in which they work, while others are on their way up, as every one of them submitted great-looking and sounding dishes.

Ivy Stark, the young chef who created today's Orange-Cumin Glazed Pork Tenderloin, is executive chef at New York City's Dos Caminos restaurant, "which is known for its inventive Mexican cuisine." (from her bio – p. 6)  Had I known about Ivy, I would have likely dined at her recent on a very recent trip to NYC but alas, we "missed it by that much." (Get Smart) Given that we loved the flavor profile of this dish, I think we'd enjoy her restaurant cuisine as well.  (By the way, Dos Caminos is owned by the BR Guest Hospitality Group which also owns and runs Isabella's, Ocean Grill and Ruby Foo's in NYC, restaurants we've frequented and enjoyed in the past.)

Then there's the accompanying Roasted Corn Chowder from Sweet Corn Spectacular, a book published by our very own Minnesota Historical Society Press.  Again – what to choose, what to choose?  After much hemming and hawing, we went with the Roasted Corn Chowder and the sweetness and creaminess were perfect offsets to the bit of heat found in the tenderloin.

But – true confession time – we sort of cheated.  And by "sort of," when we were shopping and I was reaching for fresh ears of corn,  Andy suggested that we eliminate all that potential mess with the corn silk and the husks and just buy frozen.  I'll admit that this surprised me as it was tantamount to culinary treason but he had a point.  Just so you know, short of having the real deal, frozen vegetables, vegetables that are picked fresh and frozen immediately to preserve flavor and vitamins, are recipe lifesavers and are way better for you than canned.  And so okay, we used it during the summer when the real deal was available—so sue us!  Absent the char marks from the grill, the oven-roasted frozen corn was just as delicious as the real deal and was far less trouble to prepare.

What I really liked about the recipe was that you pureed corn at several stages and I appreciated the texture of the dish as it was both smooth and chunky—just like peanut butter.  I also had some leftover peppers that I roasted then coarsely chopped and added to the chowder.   Delicioso! 

In conclusion, although you may not take on 185 mile bike ride (and please don't!), you don't have to miss out on delicious summertime food.  Enjoy.

 

Orange-Cumin Glazed Pork Tenderloin – makes 4 servings

Ann's Note:  You'll need to marinade the pork for at least an hour to overnight.

½ cup fresh orange juice

1-2 canned chipotles in adobo sauce

Peel from 1 orange (about 1 tablespoon) Ann's Note:  they say "peel" but think "grate" and you'll be better off!

1 tablespoon cumin seeds, lightly toasted

¼ teaspoon salt

2 pork tenderloins (1 ½ pounds each)

2 oranges, segmented (about 2 cups)

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

½ bunch cilantro, chopped (about ½ - ¾ cup)

Salt to taste

Additional Ann's Notes:  We purchased one tenderloin instead of two and so cut the ingredients in half.  To toast the cumin seeds, put them in a fry pan (no oil!) and let toast over low to medium heat until lightly browned.  You should know that they didn't really pulverize all that well in the blender.

Also, when I made the marinade, I used orange peel which I then chopped but it was still too big.  And the sauce wasn't really smooth after I pureed it; instead, it was more like a paste.  So when the time came to cook the tenderloin, I left the marinade "paste" on it and then made a second, and much smoother sauce, for serving, this time using grated orange peel.  The result was a fantastic flavor bomb!  But if you are shy about an overabundance of flavor, then combine all ingredients and puree as directed but then add a little water so as to make a saucier marinade sauce and you should be fine.

At least one hour ahead or overnight:  Combine the orange juice, chipotles, orange peel, cumin seeds, and salt in a blender.  Puree until smooth.

Place the pork tenderloins in a shallow dish and pour the orange mixture over them.  Cover with plastic wrap and marinate the tenderloins in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to overnight.

Take the tenderloins out of the marinade.  Reserve the marinade.

Put the reserved marinade in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sauce is reduced by half, about 10 to 12 minutes.  Keep it warm.

Place the meat in shallow baking dish.  Brush it with a little of the reserved marinade after 15 minutes.  Bake for a total of 20 to 25 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer registers 160F when tested in center of the meat.

Remove the meat from the oven and let it rest in a warm place for 10 minutes; this seals in the juices before serving.

Toss the orange segments, red onion, and cilantro in a small bowl with a little salt.

Cut the pork into ½"-thick slices before serving.  Place the slices on a warm serving platter and drizzle them with the hot, reduced marinade.  Surround the meat with the orange and red onion mixture.

(For those who are interested, here's the per serving information:  313 calories, 49 G protein, 15 G carbohydrates, 6 G fat.)

Roasted Corn Chowder – Serves 4
6-7 ears fresh sweet corn, husks removed (Ann's Note:  I used two, regular-size bags of frozen sweet corn and that may have been a bit too much as my chowder was really thick but it tasted great!)

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

4-5 red potatoes, cut into ½-inch chunks

1 ½ cups heavy cream, divided

Salt and pepper (Ann's Note:  I didn't use enough and as a result, the soup was almost overly sweet.  I adjust the seasonings when I reheat.)

Prepare grill.  Brush 3-4 corncobs with 2 tablespoons olive oil, and grill corn until as "done" as you like.  Set aside to cool.  (The author notes that she prefers some grill marks but not an overall char.)  Ann's Note:  If you use frozen corn, thaw it out first, then put on a baking sheet/baking pan and put in a 350 oven until it is roasted to your satisfaction.

Using a sharp knife, carefully cut kernels off remaining ears of corn.  Add kernels to a food processor or blender with 1 cup of the water.  Puree until very smooth, about 2 minutes.  In a medium pot over medium heat, cook celery and onion in remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, stirring occasionally, until veggies are translucent and tender.  Add corn puree, remaining cup of water, and potatoes.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.

Carefully cut kernels off roasted cobs or corn.  Add kernels to a food processor or blender and puree with ½ cup heavy cream until somewhat smooth, about 30 seconds.  Add roasted corn puree and remaining heavy cream to the pot, and simmer until heated through.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Variations

• Add some chopped roasted red peppers along with the roasted corn puree.  (Ann's choice)
• Add some fresh basil and Parmesan cheese with the roasted corn puree.
• Add a couple of grilled jalapenos, finely chopped, with the roasted corn puree.
• Add about 2 cups shredded cheese along with the roasted corn puree.
• Top with crumbled bacon.