This corn chowder is easy to make and super delicious with fresh summer corn!  There is a bit of prep time, so make sure to consider that.  I based this off a recipe from Cooking Light and it’s really delicious and surprisingly, not too hot for an August night.  The corn is sweet and fresh and I think cilantro brightens up everything!

a small chunk of pancetta, or a few slices of bacon

3 shallots, finely chopped (1 onion would work as well)

1 celery stalk finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced or grated

1/2 poblano pepper finely chopped

1/2 to 1 teaspoon paprika (season to taste)

salt

pepper

1 -16oz of reduced sodium chicken broth

1/3c water

5-6 ears of fresh corn kernels or 4  cups frozen corn kernels, thawed

3/4 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp

1/3 cup half-and-half

cilantro and flat leaf parsley to taste

Directions:

Heat a large Dutch oven or saute pan with high sides over medium-high heat.

Add pancetta or bacon to pan; saute 4 minutes or until it begins to brown.

Remove pieces and drain on paper towels.

Add shallots, celery, garlic, and poblano pepper and saute for 2-3 minutes.

Add corn, and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add broth; bring to a boil, and cook for 4 minutes.

Place 2 cups of corn mixture in a blender and blend until smooth. (I used my immersion blender and it worked just fine. I did blend it in a separate bowl and poured it back in, but next time, I’ll do it right in the soup pot.

Return pureed corn mixture to pan.

Stir in shrimp; cook 2 minutes or until shrimp are done.

Stir in half-and-half and adjust seasons to taste.

Crumble reserved bacon over soup and sprinkle with cilantro and parsley.

My notes:

I like shrimp, but I don’t think it added anything special to this recipe.  You could also make this vegetarian by omitting the pancetta or bacon and using vegetable stock instead.  The real flavor comes from the corn and the poblano pepper.  Adapt as you like, adding whatever veggies you want.  Enjoy!

a small chunk of pancetta, or a few slices of bacon
3 shallots, finely chopped (1 onion would work as well)
1 celery stalk finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced or grated
1/2 poblano pepper finely chopped
1/2 to 1 teaspoon paprika (season to taste)
salt
pepper
1 -16oz of reduced sodium chicken broth
1/3c water
5-6 ears of fresh corn kernels or 4  cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
3/4 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
1/3 cup half-and-half
cilantro and flat leaf parsley to taste

Directions:

Heat a large Dutch oven or saute pan with high sides over medium-high heat.
Add pancetta or bacon to pan; saute 4 minutes or until it begins to brown.
Remove pieces and drain on paper towels.
Add shallots, celery, garlic and next 3 ingredients (through minced garlic) to pan, and saute for 2 minutes.
Add corn, and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add broth; bring to a boil, and cook for 4 minutes.
Place 2 cups of corn mixture in a blender and blend until smooth. (I used my immersion blender and it worked just fine. I did blend it in a separate bowl and poured it back in, but next time, I’ll do it right in the soup pot.
Return pureed corn mixture to pan.
Stir in shrimp; cook 2 minutes or until shrimp are done.
Stir in half-and-half and adjust seasons to taste.
Crumble reserved bacon over soup and sprinkle with cilantro and parsley.

Last week I had to do something I really didn’t want to do. I deferred my triathlon entry until next year.  I’ve been battling a chronic knee issue that pretty much stopped my running progress and then while on vacation I severely strained my rotator cuff and I haven’t been able to move my right arm much. It’s finally at the stage where it’s just really sore, and not screaming at me when I pick something up, but swimming is off the schedule for another 3-4 weeks while it heals.

I’m trying very hard not to be upset with myself because I’m come a long way in the last 12 months toward being healthier and exercising regularly.  Maybe I bit off more than I could chew with the triathlon, but I like a challenge and I need goals. I really enjoyed my training but I know that I’m not fully healthy and if I pushed it, I could do more damage, possibly permanently, to my knee and shoulder.  While I am bitterly disappointed, I will continue to train and prep and I will complete a triathlon before my 40th birthday. Still have plenty of time to accomplish that goal.

This is a variation of a recipe I saw on a cooking show.  It might have been Paula Deen, which shocks me because I can never cook anything she makes.  She uses too much butter and sugar for me.  Why yes, I did just actually say “too much sugar.”

These are Lemon Coconut Macaroons and they are SO delicious.

1 large egg white
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 c sweetened condensed milk
2+ Tablespoons lemon zest (I used a whole lemon, it was a big one)
1/2 T lemon extract (I didn’t have any, so I used all the juice from the lemon I zested and it tasted just fine)
1/2t vanilla extract
1 – 14 oz bag of shredded sweetened coconut – roughly chopped.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a bowl,whisk the egg white and salt until frothy.  This took about 2- minutes using a hand whisker, faster if you use an electric mixer (which you do not need for this recipe)

Stir in condensed milk, zest and extracts (and juice if you use the lemon juice).

Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the coconut until combined.

You can use a small ice cream scoop or just use your hands to make 1 1/2 inch macaroons.  You will need to use your hands to form them together, so be prepared to get your hands dirty.

Place them about an inch apart on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.

Bake until lightly browned. Check on them after 20 minutes, but mine needed almost 30.  They will turn brown very quickly after  they start browning so be sure to watch them.

Transfer to a wire rack and cool.

Notes: If you like your macaroons a little more refined and not so crazy, you can chop the coconut  more finely.  There are a lot of variations you can make with this recipe, just experiment with flavorings.  They can be dipped in chocolate or rolled in nuts, all sorts of things.  Be creative. If they turn out less than desired, you can always bring them to work and call them “test recipes.”

Yes, I’m aware it’s the end of July but I just found this unpublished post. Oops,

2010 was a doozy of a year for me.  In many ways it was good even when filled with difficult moments, forced honesty and gut wrenching decision making.  I can honestly say I know myself a lot better than I did  a year ago.  I don’t usually use this blog to document very personal moments because they often involve others who didn’t necessarily sign up for “Blog Exposure” so I’m going to do my best to talk about my year without pushing other people into the limelight.

Best Recipe: If I had to pick a favorite recipe from 2010 it would probably be Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli. I love this recipe. It’s so simple, hearty, and delicious.  Also SUPER easy.  You can make adaptations by adding other veggies (sliced mushrooms! or fresh spinach at the end) and it freezes well (the whole dish or just the meat and veggie part) and above all it reheats wonderfully!  This is important to me because I am picky about food that I reheat.

Best Experiences: This is a triple tie.  I volunteered at the Chicago Triathlon in August and was a viewer at the Chicago Half Marathon in August and the full Chicago Marathon in October.  All three events were really inspiring.  I was most awed by the triathlon because I spent a good part of the morning yelling and cheering on strangers who were doing incredible things. I also got to talk to a few first time triathlon-ers and it’s really geared me up for this year.  The marathons are amazing in their own way.  Running 13.1 miles?  and 26.2?  That takes a special kind of person.  It’s a one day dream, but I’m starting with the Chicago Tri this year and we’ll see how that goes.

Best Book: Hands down the best book I read in 2010 was The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  The book has two sequels, which are also excellent.  This is the story of a future dystopian US, completely controlled by the government, known as The Capitol.  People live in 12 districts, each with it’s own industry.  People are oppressed, silenced with violence and forced to live forever within their own communities.  Each year, to remind the Districts that The Capitol is in charge, two children from each district between the ages of 12-18 are thrown into an arena and forced to battle to the death.  Did I mention this is televised live and every citizen is required to watch?   You’ll be addicted to the story and characters (Katniss and Peeta, among others) as soon as you pick it up.   This is a terrific book to read with your children (11 and over) because of all the discussion points brought up  in this series.  This is one of those books (series) that make me proud to share books with other people.  I’m thrilled that I was able to share Hunger Games with an insane amount of people this year.  Please read The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

Best Advice: I’ve been thinking about this one for a while.  We all have our demons, the cross we each bear, the regrets, the what ifs, the missed opportunities, the times we don’t trust our instincts.  2010 was particularly difficult for me and I spent a lot of time blaming myself for lots of things going wrong and failing. As a child, I experienced things that had a profound effect on my life and I feel like I’ve spent 30 years trying to make up for that damage in some way.  Sometimes I’ve been successful, other times I’ve coped and sadly a few times I don’t really remember how I  survived.  My point is that for most of my life I’ve felt damaged and broken in some ways, mostly relationship related.  In a moment of extreme honesty a few months ago, I said to a dear friend “I think I’m too broken to be fixed or loved” and the immediate, no thought needed reply was “Until you realize that you don’t need fixing, all the love in the world isn’t going to make a difference”  I don’t mean to sound trite or glib, but that’s so true.  I’ve always said my life’s worth of experiences has made me the person I am today, I just didn’t always believe it.  I’m working very hard on accepting who I am and trying to embrace the person I’ve become without judging myself or the decisions I’ve made getting here.  Having people in my life willing to love and accept me for who I am NOW, makes that task a million times easier to accept.

Word of the year: Clarity.  Clarity is a bitch.  You know you’ve reach the pinnacle of clarity when you can’t hide from yourself anymore.  I was the queen of lying to myself. About everything. Things I wanted, things I didn’t want. What I was willing to do to get those things and whether or not I had the strength to do them.

Reunions: Oh, I could write pages and pages about the people I have reconnected with this year (and over the past few, thanks to Facebook) but among the best were my childhood friends Andrew and Casandra.  I was able to see both of them the same weekend! This was a treat I wasn’t expecting and it did  more for my state of mind than I would have thought possible.

I’m also so thankful to have reconnected with the two Jennifers this year.   JenTastic, I’m glad we were able to unpack together this year and discover the PikNPig and Jennifer J, can’t say I’m glad your ceiling fell on me, but I’m kinda sorta glad it did

Halfway through the year when I was drowning in the turmoil in my head, I set a personal goal for myself to accomplish three things every day and if I was able to do that then I could rightly say my day was good and worthwhile.

1. Find joy each day in something that directly surrounds me.
2. Make a positive impact on the world, directly or indirectly every day.
3. Do something helpful for another person each day.

Now, I admit that I made those three things purposefully vague so that I can find success in little things, but it’s worked. When I find myself getting weighed down in my head, I remind myself of those three things and it helps.  Hopefully, I can keep that philosophy going in 2011.   Fingers crossed.

Spending my Sunday chilling at dad’s and admiring his backyard garden.

I have always loved this statue of Perseus and Medusa.

It definitley sparked my interest in Greek Mythology as a kid…or was that the summer I watched Clash of the Titans every single day? 

Look at this beautiful pink hydrangea… so lovely!