Grab a Dozen Ears of Fresh Corn--Only

About author / Christine Gable

Culinary enthusiast; kids cuisine and slow cooking; magazine recipe developer; professional writer. Her simple recipes are great for family dinners.

Or don’t make this slow-cooker soup. Seriously. If you think that it doesn’t matter, I guarantee you’ll be writing in to me telling me about this starchy, chewy, just overall-unappealing soup: “How in the world could you feed this to your family?” and other similar, unsavory comments. Not to mention the lost time and money from that grocery store frozen corn (who knows how old it really is?!). Now you may have a very forgiving hubby like me—he’ll tell you that he actually likes that chewy corn (what gives?!). But we all know better.

Discriminating palate or not, I don’t want anyone to waste time making a dish that isn’t going to taste great. I don’t want you to put time and effort to pull this together, figuring that you’re gonna have one kicker of a meal for your crew … and then sit down only to be disappointed.

Don’t use frozen corn for this recipe. I know you may be tempted, but don’t do it. It’s just not worth it.

This soup is utterly fabulous with fresh corn. Only. So if you are lucky enough to have a farm near you with a late harvest, snag it. I know we’re into squash and pumpkin season, and Indian corn and gourds have been piled on every farm stand and market table (honestly, didn’t you ever wonder what happens to all those gourds?).

Corn is considered to be on of the major food grains. It’s available in colors ranging from white and yellow to pink, blue and black. The reason the texture and taste of corn changes after picking is because the fluid and starch content changes—decreasing its moisture content. That equals less flavorful sweetness the older (and drier) the corn is. Fresh is best, for sure!

This recipe was inspired by our recent trip to a local farm show—oh, the delights and delicacies that our eyes feasted upon as we dallied by the food tents and trailers. We indulged in French fries (don’t expect a slow cooker recipe for those!) and ogled the apple dumplings (hmmm, would a crockpot version be do-able?), and the chicken corn soup.

A-ha. There was possibility. And then I remembered that daughter would be less than enamored with a simmering pot of chicken stock. Forget chicken when I need to feed the whole crew from the same pot. No can do.

But I really wanted to make that soup. That’s when I hit upon potato-corn chowder. Now there’s a perfect fall soup—and after taking a look at a few Mennonite cookbooks (yes, we’re right here in Amish and plain folk country), I realized I didn’t have celery or noodles in the house. Better go for the potato corn chowder.

To boost the protein for the hard-workin’ boys (thanks for the back porch re-do, guys!), I could bake some chicken. The bone-in breasts could bake in the oven in 90 minutes. Yep, that was the plan.

Good news is that it all turned out very well. The boys ended up eating the chicken on the side AND adding chunks to the soup. The fresh corn was no more then 15 minutes of cleaning and cutting off before tossing into the crockpot – and it was time well-spent since the satisfying crunch of fresh corn is one like no other.

So grab a dozen ears and let your slow cooker make an awesome soup for you.

Slow Cooker Potato Corn Chowder

Made with fresh parsley, milk, black pepper, salt, potatoes, onion, bouillon cubes, water, ears fresh corn, butter

Serves/Makes: 12

• 4 large potatoes
• 1 small onion
• 2 bouillon cubes
• 6 cups boiling water
• 12 ears fresh corn
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup milk (or cream, for a richer base)
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, optional

Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch diced pieces. (Boil the water while you're prepping the taters.) Dice the onion. Place the potatoes, onion, boiling water and bouillon cubes into the slow cooker.

Now for the most time-intensive part: Clean the corn and cut it off the cob. Add it all to the cooker. Cover with the lid and let cook for 6-8 hours on high.

When the potatoes are tender (and you're ready to eat dinner!), add the butter, salt, pepper, milk (or cream), and parsley (if desired). Stir together and serve.

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