Corn Chowder With Children
More bacon, less cayenne, leave time to chop
Lately, it feels like every time I look at my counter, rife with summer veggie hauls from weekly trips to the North Fork and the Hamptons, multiple ears of corn stare back at me, begging use.
Aside from sticking mini-corn-shaped holders passed down from my mom’s 1970’s pantry into the cob — a joyful, new pastime for my two and a half-year-old who chomps away for 15 minutes, which translates to 15 minutes of ME time — I’ve been trying some new recipes. Ina Garten’s simple sautéed fresh corn is a decadent yet simple weekday dinner accompaniment; Mark Bittman’s corn salad with tomato, feta and mint is a crowd-pleaser. This week was no different, another Monday, another counter glance, another few ears of corn. Needing variation, in addition to meeting my quarantine goals of exposing my daughter to new tastes and textures in an attempt to expand and enhance her little palate, I hit the ‘Gram for some inspiration. And there it was: chowdah! Yes, of course. Corn chowder.
I love a good chowder. Be it clam, crab, chicken, corn, or otherwise, chowder and I were old friends. After a recent trip to Napeague’s seaside Clam Bar where my daughter ate four curious spoonfuls of my clam chowder capped by a few exclamations of “yum,” I figured I had hit upon a winner.
