Thyme Enough

Crab and Corn Chowder

Nelson and Sandy Barnett met in college. They have been happily married for 59 years and are still having fun cooking and living! Find Sandy’s newly published thriller Dead in the Shadow of Doubt on Amazon.com.

I ran across this recipe online and it caught my eye. We’ve always loved soup and have good memories of chowder on both coasts. Sounds like we travel all the time, and we don’t, not as much as we’d like to! This chowder is a little different and very good. I found it in spicy/southernkitchen.com. I used imitation crab, even though the recipe told me not to, and the result was good, but not as good as with the real thing. Since we can’t get fresh crab meat, I suggest the packaged fresh crab from your grocery. I think that will make this recipe much above average. Also, I whirled the corn in the food processor a couple of times, and it made the soup creamier. So, pretend you are on the coast of Maine, and enjoy this chowder!

Ingredients

4 slices bacon (chopped), 1 celery rib (chopped), ½ medium onion (diced), ½ red bell pepper (diced), ½ jalapeno (seeded and diced), 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 3 ½ cups chicken broth, 2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels, ¾ cups whipping cream, ½ teaspoon Creole seasoning, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon ground cumin, 12 ounces fresh lump crab meat, picked over, chopped fresh cilantro, and oyster crackers.

Instructions

Cook bacon in a Dutch oven until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Leave 2 tablespoons bacon grease in the Dutch oven and cook the celery, onion, red bell pepper and jalapeno until soft.

Add the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring it in well.

Gradually whisk in the chicken broth. Add the corn. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer 15 minutes. Add the whipping cream, Creole seasoning, salt, pepper, cumin, and crab meat. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Serve topped with bacon, cilantro, and oyster crackers. N

Notes from the Clearing

Joey Thomas

The black birds swam past in a fabric blowing in the wind, a collective mind with a strength as large as they expanded. Out and in they broiled, and dove, and turned to shape the peppered ball into everything imaginable. They climbed and fell and breathed out again, until the breathing string of them disappeared beyond the horizon. Just another touch of magic not wasted on my enjoyment, as I took in the fluttering joy that dropped from their effort. N