Contributed by Shirley
I used corn cobs from which I'd cut the corn to make fresh corn chowder for my husband. The cobs are full of flavour even without the corn.
This is good fresh, good the next day, good hot or cold (may need to be thinned with cold milk to a thinner consistency if eaten cold) and it freezes well too.
Cut the corn off the cob. Cut up the onions, carrots, celery and potatoes into little itsy-bitsy pieces the size of corn kernels. Melt the butter and fry the onions until brown around the edges. Add the ham and heat through. Mix the flour into the onion/butter mixture and set aside.
Put the corn, carrots, celery and potatoes into a large pan (or pressure cooker) with the cream or milk. Simmer until done (or pressure cook at 15 psi for 20 minutes). If simmering on the stove, it takes about one to two hours (depending on how careful you were about the size of the veggies); be careful not to let the mixture burn.
Add the cream or milk from the cooked veggies to the onion and ham mixture slowly, stirring thoroughly as it is added. Then add the cooked veggies.
Cut the cream cheese into chunks and stir into the soup. Keep stirring until the cream cheese has melted. Don't let the soup boil, you want it to be just simmering. If you do accidentally get it too hot, the soup will separate. This is just a cosmetic problem that you can get around by whizzing the whole thing up in a Vitamixer or food processor and calling it "cream of veggies" soup. Add the rest of the milk (adjust milk quantity to make a thicker or thinner soup) .
Add the pepper and salt to taste. Simmer for one more minute, then remove from heat. Simmering too long after the pepper is added can make the pepper too pervasive and bitter. If serving to children, it may be a good idea to withhold the salt and pepper and let each person season their own.
This page last updated 08/192003/