A lot of people think Arizona is all desert.  If you have never been to this spectacular State, you need to look into the White Mountains.  You’ve probably heard of Flagstaff, which is another gorgeous area with a Ski Resort, Northern Arizona University, and the San Francisco Peaks. But I’m guessing if you live in New Jersey you’ve never heard of the White Mountains of Arizona!  Quite a diverse state–and the White Mountains are  my idea of what Heaven might be like.  Pinetop, Show Low, Greer, Alpine, and back to our original subject:  Corn from Taylor Arizona.  My hubby ate a cob for lunch and commented:  “That corn is so sweet it’s like dessert!”

For about a month starting mid August, we see several pick up trucks around Pinetop-Lakeside,  filled to the brim with fresh picked corn from that morning! This year the price shot up from $6 per dozen to $8 per dozen!  And worth every penny.  But while we love the corn, we often struggle with recipes to use it.  “Mexican Street Corn” is great:  Grill some cobs of corn cut in half.  While they are hot, Spread corn with mayo, roll in Cotija cheese, sprinkle with chili powder and cilantro.  Serve on a stick.  Let the kids make their own! You can google this and find many recipes for  “Elote”.

The above recipe looked good when I got those 12 ears of corn and  I needed some  recipes.  I was sure at the right place at the right time!  A whole section of this month’s Cuisine magazine is dedicated to corn recipes.  I took this one as a guide, and then made my version of a Mexican corn chowder.

TAYLOR CORN CHOWDER  (I know I posted a similar dish a few months ago, (Thanks to Jeff and Dara). But this is a little different, and uses a different method.  Quite new and  nice!  See my Instagram askmehowiknowcb to see the video of the “cobs”.

4 cups fresh corn, cut off the cob

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (you know my practice: 1 tsp. soup base or bouillon per cup of water.  Go lightly on the bouillon!  You can always add flavor later, but when it’s too salty, it’s a mess to fix!

1 cup Crema (or sour cream)

1 large potato, diced

1 chopped fresh jalapeño (seeded and deveined).  This is what makes the soup Latino.  If you aren’t a fan of spice, no need to add.  We happen to love jalapeños, so I double them!

NEW METHOD ALERT!!!!  ALL THE COBS:  When you have cut the fresh corn off the cobs, cover them with water and boil them for about 20 minutes.  Drain and use the liquid  to make your soup broth.  Measure out 4 cups of the milky mixture and add 4 tsp. soup base to it.  You have just added one more dimension to this wonderful soup.   Of course you can skip this step, but the “milk” from the cobs just adds a rich corn which boosts the soup’s flavor.  (And, you may prefer to use already prepared broth in little boxes or cans.). That’s your business.  I use so much broth that I like to control the flavor myself!

Take two cups of broth and two cups of fresh corn and put in blender.  Blend until smooth.  Put this mixture into a large pan, add the onion, potato and peppers.  Cook about 15-20 minutes at a simmer or until onion is soft.  Add remaining broth, the rest of the corn, bring to a simmer for about 20 minutes.  Take about 1 cup of broth out of the boiling soup and stir in the cup of crema or sour cream (this is to keep the cream from curdling).  Turn off the heat and stir the cream mixture back into the soup.  Serve with cilantro garnish or I like to sprinkle little kernels of raw corn on top.  Delicioso….ask me how I know!