Corn Chowder with Pablanos and Zucchini

Are you tired of corn yet? I know I am. Oy vey! This is the last corny recipe for a while. I promise!

Well, at least until the salsas and pickled corn get prepped for our winter stash.

adapted from Vodka and Biscuits

serves 4

The Ingredients:
3 slices of bacon
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 poblano pepper, stem and seeds removed, finely diced
2 medium zucchini or yellow squash, diced
1 Tbsp butter
3 ears of corn, shucked and kernels removed
2 cups milk
3-4 green onions, sliced, divided
salt and pepper to taste

The Process:
Heat a large, heavy-bottom saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until the fat is rendered and the bacon crisp. Remove and reserve the bacon for garnish.

Add the onion, pablano and garlic to saucepan with the bacon fat. Sauté until the vegetables are tender and fragrant, 3-4 minutes.

Add the butter and squash and toss to coat. Reduce heat to medium and cover saucepan with a lid. Cook the vegetables an additional 5 minutes or until the squash is tender.

While the vegetables cook, combine the milk with half of the corn kernels in a blender. Blend on high until very smooth.


Transfer the corn purée into the saucepan along with the remaining corn and half of the green onions. Bring soup to a simmer and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the corn is heated through and the soup has reduced slightly.


Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve hot, garnished with reserved bacon and remaining green onion.

Pablano Polenta Stuffed Peppers

My usual course of action with several peppers on hand is to stuff them. Typically, fillings involve ground meat and rice, smothered in tomato sauce. On rare occasions an Indian inspired version comes about, using lentils or chickpeas and copious amounts of cumin and garam masala. This tex-mex corn-centric version is a first for me. I blame the endless sea of sweet corn we were blessed with late this summer.

adapted from Martha Stewart's Polenta Stuffed Peppers and Stuffed Poblano Peppers

serves 4-6

The Ingredients:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1 pablano pepper, seeded and finely diced
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup coarse cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
2 ears of corn
1 1/2 cup shredded monteray jack cheese
4 bell peppers, halved, stem and seeds removed

The Process:
In a large saucepan set over medium heat, melt 1 Tbsp of butter. Add the poblano, onion and garlic.  Sautee util tender, 2-3 minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil.

Slowly whisk in the cornmeal, salt, pepper and cumin. Reduce to a simmer. Whisk frequently until the polenta thickens, about 5 minutes. Add additional water as needed. Remove from heat and fold in the remaining butter, corn kernel, and half of the cheese. Stir until cheese and butter has melted. Season with addition salt, pepper and cumin to taste.

Preheat the oven to 375

Arrange the pepper halves in a large shallow baking dish. Spoon the polenta into the peppers.  Add 1/2 of water to the bottom of the baking dish. Cover with foil.

Bake, covered, for 30 minutes.

Uncover and sprinkle the peppers with remaining cheese. Return dish to oven and bake an additional 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the peppers are tender.

Serve garnished with salsa and cilantro.

Peppers Stuffed with Farro and Italian Sausage

Some dishes are classic. But I still like to tinker, especially as new ingredients come to my attention. Farro is lovely in this dish. Slightly nutty and more earthy than rice, it adds quite a bit more flavor. It also doesn't disintegrate as much as rice typically does. As a result, the filling has much more texture and doesn't form up into a homogeneous meatloaf mass as some other stuffed pepper fillings are wont to do. The blend of Italian sausage and ground beef lends the filling a little extra kick. Feel free to play around with spicier meat blend. A chorizo tex/mex blend could be fun...

the recipe is my own

serves 4

The Ingredients:
1/2 cup farro
1 cup stock or water 4 medium green peppers
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 - 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 Tbsp capers, minced
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lg ground mild Italian sausage
1 egg

The Process:
Preheat the oven to 350 F

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the broth and farro to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until the farro is tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Slice the tops off of the peppers. Trim away the extra flesh from around the stem, coarsely chop, and set aside. Remove the membranes and seeds from the cavity.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanche the peppers for about 5 minutes, or until they are a vibrant green. Rinse the peppers in ice water and set aside to drain.


Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions, garlic and reserved chopped pepper. Sauté until tender and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir in the dice tomatoes, tomato sauce, capers, and seasoning. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Heat through and set aside.

In a large bowl combine the cooked farro, beef, sausage, egg and 1 cup of the tomato mixture. Mix thoroughly.

Arrange the peppers upright in a lightly oiled baking dish. Spoon the filling into each pepper cavity, doming the mixture slightly.

Spoon the remaining tomato mixture over the top. Bake, uncovered, about 60 minutes.