Fresh Corn and Herb Soup

Late yesterday I took this picture at the state park. The fog had rolled it and it was misty and cool. Many afternoons like this we see surfers out in the water. They all wear wet suits and look to be having a lot of fun. This was the first time I actually saw someone catching a wave and riding it all the way in. Way to go!

Since it has been a little cool, with the corn from the farmer's market I decided to make this recipe, it is slightly adapted from the "Local Kitchen" blog.com. and was actually posted last year. After reading this I now save the cobs to make stock all summer long.

Ingredients:

4 ears corn (shucked)
7-8 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion (diced)
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic (minced)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup coarsely chopped herbs (I used basil and parsley)

To prepare:

Add water and salt to a medium stock pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add corn and boil gently until bright yellow and tender about 5 minutes. Remove corn with tongs, reserving water. When corn is cool enough to handle cut kernels off, set aside. Return cobs to the stock pot and simmer about 45 minutes to an hour. (What your doing is creating a nice corn base for the soup).

Strain contents into a heat proof bowl, discard cobs. Wipe out pot and return to stove. On medium-low heat melt the butter, add olive oil. Then add onions, garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute until ingredients are soft about 8-10 minutes. Add stock and corn. Heat until everything is warm. Salt and pepper to taste. Add herbs. Enjoy!