sweet sweet corn

It is that magical time of year where sweet corn is at its best and I just want to eat it all the time. I picked up a dozen at the Geneva farmers market over the weekend and was excited to eat it. Since corn chowder is one of my favorite soups, I could think of no better way to use it up. I also decided to try something out and make an horchata with sweet corn or what I like to call cornchata :).

I started by making a corn stock which will serve as the basis for both the soup and the drink.  I shucked the corn, discarding only the outer husk and silk.  I set aside the more tender and juicier inner husk which will be part of the stock as well.

I then removed the kernels from each ear of corn.  The corn was so fresh and sweet I found myself just snacking on the kernels as I prepped.  I had to put it away so I could still have enough left for dinner.

To make the corn stock, I placed all the cobs and husks in a large pot and covered with water. I let this come up to a boil, then lowered and simmered for an hour.

This is what the stock looks like after an hour.  It has a yellow and slightly milky quality to it.  The whole kitchen smelled amazing by the time this was done. 

I first got to work on the chowder.  For this I used(more or less):

 1/2 a pound of bacon

3 poblanos, chopped up

1 onion, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

6 cloves of garlic, smashed

4 yellow potatoes, diced

6 cups corn kernels

4 cups corn stock

2 cups chicken stock

3/4 cup milk

1 tbsp of corn starch

salt & pepper

I first fried the bacon to render out some of the fat.  All of the additional ingredients will be fried in the fat as I didn't use butter for this recipe.

After removing the bacon, I added the onion, celery, and garlic and fried until softened. I then poured the corn and chicken stock into the pan along with the potatoes and half of the corn.  I let this simmer for about 15 minutes until the potatoes softened slightly.  I added a slurry of the milk and corn starch and using a stick blender I slightly pulsed the mixture to break up some of the potatoes and corn.  This along with the corn starch will help to thicken the mixture. 

I added the remaining corn kernels and poblanos and let it all simmer together for about 15 more minutes.  Below is the finished product.  I was worried it would not have much flavor since it was pretty white after adding the milk, but simmering the remaining kernels seemed to bring it around.  The soup was delicious, slightly spicy thanks to the poblano and the kernels still had a sweet snap.

On to the cornchata! I began by taking 4 cups of corn kernels and letting it sit in the hot corn stock for about 30 minutes.  The ratio I used was 1 cup of kernels for 1 cup of stock. I then added a couple of teaspoons of ground cinnamon and began to blend.  I was eventually going to strain the mixture through a cheesecloth so I made sure to blend for a while so I could make sure to get as much corn liquefied as possible. It was at this point that I added sugar while it was still warm so that it would dissolve.  The finished drink is pretty refreshing and slightly sweet so I did this to taste, I think I added 2 tablespoons of sugar in the end.

After completely blending, I strained through a cheesecloth. After letting it strain for about 30 min I wrapped up the pulp in the cheese cloth and squeezed out as much of the remaining liquid as possible. Below is the finished product, yellow and milky and slightly rich.  This was very refreshing over ice.  I saved some in a jar to try with some booze over the weekend!

Atole de Avena

 Atole is very much a classic winter drink for my family.  It is what we traditionally have instead of eggnog.  Rather than thickening with eggs, the liquid is thickened with a grain.  Typical thickening agents are corn flour, oats, wheat flour or rice.  They can come in various flavors from chocolate to fruit to just cinnamon.  My favorite is simply Atole de Avena or Oat Avena.  This version is flavored with canela, dried apricots and piloncillo. I combined these ingredients in a pot and boiled for about 15 minutes and let it steep for another 15.

After the liquid is done steeping, the piloncillo is melted and the apricots and canela give off all their flavor. 

After straining, I combined with whole milk.  After tweaking the recipe a bit, I found that a 4-5 cups of liquid to 1 cup of oats is a reasonable ratio.  Here you will see I have less liquid and this resulted in a thicker atole. 

I added instant oats and blended with a stick blender to break it down and combine with the milk.  I heated the mixture over medium, stirring occasionally.  I blended a few more times to make sure all the oats where fully incorporated into the drink to make sure it is smooth.

The end result is a warm, thick drink with strong oat and cinnamon flavor.  It is very nourishing and satisfying on a cold winter day.  The apricots are optional, but I had them laying around and found that they gave a nice fruit flavor to the drink as well.

cold brew coffee

Summer is finally here in Chicago and I've been seeing a lot over the past few months related to cold brewing so I thought I would try it myself.  The method involved using coarsely ground coffee and letting it "steep" in cold water for 24+ hours.  The colder temperature makes for a smoother less acidic brew that tastes great over ice or with a splash of cream.  I'm a big fan of having iced coffee in the summer so I was more than happy to give it a shot.

I like to use the large 8 cup jars for this since I can store it and it lasts for about a week or so, but it doesn't usually last that long.  The ratio is use is 1 cup of coarsely ground coffee per 4 cups of cold water. In this case I did 2 cups of coffee and 8 cups of water to fill my jar.

Once you pour the water into the grounds, make sure to stir or cover and tilt the jar back and forth to ensure all the grounds are soaked so they don't just stay at the top.  This also assures you're getting the flavor of all the coffee that was added.

After 24 hours the coffee is ready to filter.  I use my jarring funnel along with an old coffee machine filter.  This does a good enough job but many people use a paper filter to assure the smoothest coffee possible. This is something i will try next, I did notice some tiny coffee particles though it was not bothersome.  The resulting brew is a bit strong but suits my taste served over a fair amount of ice though water can be added to dilute it a bit. I would say this is most similar to having espresso that you would pour over ice, dilute with water or cream, or simply just have a smaller shot or two in a glass.

Here it is, a tasty smooth and refreshing glass of iced coffee.  It is really so good and much better than other iced coffee I've had in the past.  This is definitely going to be a part of my morning routine this summer.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!