Corn Chowder (gluten and dairy free)

It was cold today. Even though the water was dripping from the trees with hopeful splashes, it was still chilly. We wanted something warm, that would fill us up and had some good flavor. I'll be honest, my secret motivation was to pack the boy with a few more vegetables, since we still haven't fully emerged from the season of the sick. Any additional work we could put into nutrients to strengthen our delicate immune systems would be well-received. Thus, I snuck in some of my left over kale from the Crispy Mediterranean Polenta I made. I really like the green flavor of the kale, full of vitamins. All chopped up in the soup, you'd just think it was dried parsley maybe. Certainly harmless, but really powerful and good at the same time. Go kale!


Corn Chowder (dairy free)

3 cups corn (frozen, or 6 fresh ears with the kernels shaved off)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped sweet bell pepper
1 tablespoon oil
2 cups homemade chicken broth
1 cup cubed potato (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup kale leaves, shredded
1 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon sweet rice flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 slices bacon, cooked and cut into small pieces

Cook the onion and bell peppers in oil until they are tender, but not browned. Stir in the chicken broth and add the potato. Bring it to a boil; reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the corn. Cook, uncovered for 10 minutes more or until the potato and corn are tender, stirring the mixture occasionally.

If you prefer a thicker chowder, like we do, during cooking, scoop out 1 1/2 cups of corn and potatoes. Blend this in the food processor until smooth, and add back into the soup.

In a small bowl, combine the soy milk, sweet rice flour, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Stir this into the corn and potato mixture. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Garnish with bacon.

Edited to add: Corn Chowder is participating is this week's What Can I Eat? at Gluten Free Homemaker.