When the sun does break, it is glorious for a few hours. Check out our garden loving that hot sun:
By 6 pm, I fretfully watch as the fog monster rolls back over San Francisco, pulled across the Bay by someone in the hot Central Valley desiring a chilled misty breeze. In the Berkeley Hills someone is wearing a hat and scarf, perhaps even a parka. The contrast is startling and after four years it still boggles my brain. This is summer?
Needing something hot to wrap my cold hands around, I looked at the glut of not-so-perfect Happy Boy corn brought home from the farmer's market and saw soup. Corn is proof that somewhere it really is hot and also that Happy Boy Farms is not perfect. Though they grow so many things pretty and perfect, corn is just not one of them, but keep trying guys! This delicious corn soup, called Crema de Flores de Calabaza (meaning Cream of Squash Blossoms) tempered both chilly nights and James' lunch hour, sometimes taken in the foggiest of San Francisco neighborhoods:
Crema de Flores de Calabaza
1 1/2 T butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 C chicken or vegetable broth
1 small potato, peeled if you like, and chopped
~25 squash blossoms, with sepals, stems, and stamens removed
2 peppers, chopped (Any of the milder variety will do. I used a sweet red one and two banana peppers that I had on hand, but a poblano would have been great too. If you like spicy soup, try a hot pepper.)
1 C milk
1 medium zucchini, chopped
3-4 ears of corn, kernels removed
1/2 C heavy cream, optional
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
Parsley, cilantro, or epazote to garnish
1. Melt butter in medium heavy-bottomed sauce pan over med-high heat. Add chopped onion and saute until browned, about 10 minutes. Scoop out half of onions and reserve for later.
2. Add chopped potato and broth, bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and hold there for ~20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
3. While potatoes are cooking, remove the sepals, which are the hard green star-shaped things at the base. You can remove the stem, sepals, and stamen in one move if you pinch the blossom close to the base with your left hand and use your right fingers to pinch and tear the greenery off, gently releasing your left hand's hold to let the stamen slide out.
Cut blossoms into 1/4" strips, starting at base and working toward tip. In the soup these will look like yellow-orange ribbons.
4. When potatoes are done, puree the mixture in batches. This will create a smooth creamy base for the rest of the soup. Return puree to pot, but keep burner off while you complete step 5.
5. Blister chilies on an open gas burner or in a broiler, rotating to evenly blister on all sides. This takes about 6-10 minutes. Remove and promptly wrap in a kitchen towel for about 5 minutes. This allows the steam to loosen the skins, which you will then remove by rolling in a paper towel (or a kitchen towel that you don't mind getting char on). Running the pepper under cold water also helps in the skin removal process. Remove stems and seeds and chop into small pieces.
If this too much effort for you (but remember: it's a good way to get your hands warm) then just skip the blistering and go straight to the chopping, only cook the soup a little longer to thoroughly cook the peppers.
6. Add chopped peppers, zucchini, corn, reserved onions, half of squash blossoms, and milk. Simmer about 10 minutes.
7. Lower heat to warm and swirl in heavy cream, rest of squash blossoms, and salt and pepper to taste.
8. Garnish with your choice of herbs and enjoy!
A good way to warm your hands around the "fire"
A cute variety of zucchini called patty pans
Pretty, pretty compost
A gorgeous bouquet
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