Corn Chowder and Whole Wheat Biscuits

This past weekend, Huz and I took the Boo to visit some friends out of town.  We had a blast, especially the Boo who made lots of new friends, including two kitties, a doggie, and a fellow baby.  There were a lot of fun times over the weekend, but this blog is pretty much about food, so let's focus on that.



Friday night, we had a southern themed dinner which included fried chicken, gumbo, collard greens, mashed potatoes, gravy, and biscuits.  All delicious, of course.  But for me, the biscuits were a highlight.  I ate way too many of them.  Not sure I've ever eaten biscuits before, but this was an eye-opening experience.

I was, of course, determined to make them myself when I got home, so I got right on it.



I found this recipe for whole wheat biscuits which came out amazingly from the oven, though they didn't puff as much as I would have liked, but they were soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside, and satisfyingly buttery.  Next time around, I may replace 1/2 a cup of whole wheat flour with all-purpose or bread flour to get more puffing.



As much as they were fantastic with jam, I needed to figure out a good dinner pairing, and souped seemed the best option.

After looking up a few recipes, asking for some suggestions, I came up with the following healthy, hearty, tasty chowder.

A few notes on the chowder:  I'd like to try it again with a chile pepper added in for some kick.  Fresh herbs also would have been a good addition.  You can change up the veggies, but the critical pieces are the corn and potatoes.  After that, use whatever you've got on hand.  And if you have some kind of fish available, go ahead and toss it in. :)

Corn Chowder (yields: ~12 bowls)
Ingredients

  • 2 large baking potatoes, diced
  • 2 bags frozen corn
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed & chopped
  • 1 large zucchini, shredded
  • 2 large carrots, diced
  • 2-3 stalks celery, diced
  • 2 green peppers, diced
  • 1-2 Tbsp Old Bay seasoning, to taste
  • Parsley, chopped (or dried)
  • Cilantro, chopped (or dried)
  • S&P to taste
  • 6 Cups water
  • 4 Tbsp flour
  • 1/2 Cup milk/soy milk/cream/mimiccreme/coconut milk/whatever
Instructions
  1. In a large soup pot, saute onions and green pepper until onions are translucent.  
  2. Add in all the other veggies, seasoning and water.  Bring to a boil.
  3. Lower to simmer for about 30 minutes, until all the veggies are cooked.
  4. Mix flour with cold water, then add to soup and mix in.  Let cook another 5 minutes to thicken.
  5. Add in milk.
  6. Serve with chopped scallions or top with some cheese.  And don't forget to dip in some biscuits, too. ;)

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