Potato, Corn, and Cheese Chowder

Fall is here.  It's that time of year in Maine when there's a nip in the air and hot foods are very much appreciated.  Hot mulled apple cider, hot soups and chowders, hot toddies.  Anyway you look at it, they're all a great way to warm up!  This wonderful potato, corn, and cheese chowder is so simple yet so delicious, I am sure you will make it over and over.  I adapted it from a recipe in Horn of the Moon Cookbook by Ginny Callan (1987).  I've changed it a bit and turned it into a crock pot recipe that basically cooks itself after a small amount of prep work.  Recipe is below, and here are a few pictures to tempt you!

Place cubed unpeeled potatoes in a 4-quart crock pot.  Add bay leaves and water and cook on high for three hours.

Fry onion and cumin seeds in ghee (how to make ghee) or butter until browned.  Add this to the crock pot along with the corn, the heavy cream mixture, cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper.  Cook on low for three hours.

Fifteen minutes before you want to eat, add chopped parsley.  This is a picture of the chowder all done.  Doesn't it look delicious?  It's soooo creamy and tasty.  I bet you'll have more than one bowl!

I like to pair it with some gluten-free cornbread (gluten-free cornbread).  This will take the chill out of any Maine afternoon or evening!

4 large unpeeled potatoes, cleaned and diced

4 cups of water

3 bay leaves

1 Tbs ghee (how to make ghee) or butter

1 large onion, chopped

1 tsp cumin seed

1 lb bag of frozen corn, thawed

2 Tbs of sweet rice flour

1 cup of heavy cream

2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 cup of chopped parsley

Combine the potatoes, water, and bay leaves in a 4-quart crock pot.  (Make sure the potatoes don't take up more than half the pot.) Cook on high for three hours.  Meanwhile, in a small pan on medium heat, saute the cumin seeds in the ghee (or butter) for a minute until they brown.  Then add the onion and saute until browned.  Turn off the heat.  Put the sweet rice flour in a small bowl and add some of the heavy cream.  Whisk well until combined and add more cream, whisking well with each addition until you've added all the cream.  When your potatoes have cooked for three hours, add the onion mixture and the heavy cream mixture and stir well.  Then add the corn, cheese, salt, and pepper.  Cook on low for three hours.  About 15 minutes before you want to eat, add the chopped parsley and let it cook.  I like to serve this with corn bread.

TIPS:  Leave the skins on your potatoes because there's good nutrition there.  Just make sure to wash them well.  Sweet rice flour is available in a health store or the gluten-free section of many supermarkets.  If you buy cheese that is already shredded, check the ingredients to make sure that wheat flour hasn't been added to keep the cheese from sticking together.  You may have to fight your neighbors off if they find out how delicious this chowder is! :)