'It Was on Sale' Okay, Now What? - The Tale of the Sweet Corn Cream Soup

We've all been there. We see a vegetable on mega sale- we're talking, 10 for $2. Then we think 'well that sounds GREAT', so you pay, and then you get home. You have to shovel the snow off your stairs to get in and, as you do so, you start to rethink the corn. Indeed, nobody buys this much corn when it's not barbecue season, and there's a reason it was so cheap (Karine!). But you got excited. So here we are. A bunch of corn and nowhere to go. No really, nowhere to go because they didn't clear the streets yet. Here's what you can do, and *bonus* it can also keep you warm on this cold winter day. I know this, because I used the blender with an extension cord on my balcony at -2 degrees Celsius so I wouldn't wake up my daughter from her nap. And the soup was warm and perfect. It was all worth it.

Quick question: am I the only one who can't even look at corn without thinking of Mel Gibson chasing aliens off his field? To this day, husk = Joaquin Phoenix wearing an aluminium cap. Because they are listening. If you are too young to testify that this movie morbidly shaped your childhood and your thoughts on outer space, ugh. Get out of here.

I got this recipe from Mely Martinez, a Mexican-American home chef who's page I stumbled upon while looking for the exact quantity of milk to add in a cream of corn soup. Then I saw hers, liked her phrasing and thought, well, we're going to end up sounding pretty similar (it's a pretty basic recipe, but I like to give credit even if one of your sentences sounds like mine, it's that rigid university essay-writing experience which is drilled into my brain-I cannot help it! Plus she does this cute cheese and pepper topping, go check her out).

You will need,

Corn kernels (I used 5 cobs in total- whatever you want to go through!)

Butter (2 tbsp)

Yellow onion (1)

Garlic (3 cloves, minced)

Flour (2 tbsp)

Milk (2 cups)

Chicken broth (2 cups)

Salt (paprika infused)

Black pepper (for taste)

A few simple steps,

1. In a large pot over medium-heat, melt the butter and add garlic, onion, salt and pepper- stir for about 5 minutes

2. Add the corn and pour the chicken broth, then bring to a boil

3. Reduce heat and let the corn simmer for about 15 minutes

4. Optional: keep 3 tablespoons of kernels aside for the garnish

5. Add the milk and whisk in the flour until there are no lumps left

6. Transfer soup to a blender (more purée)

7. Serve with kernel garnish!

* Step 7 should technically be to pour the mixture back in the pot and keep stirring for a few minutes, allowing the mixture to thicken (you can tell my soup was still too thin as it had air bubbles, but I knew my baby would wake up any minute so I made it happen quickly!) Uglier soup, but happy baby!

Too simple to go wrong- knock yourselves out! And remember, all fresh produce deserve a try before you compost them out of laziness (yes I have done that in the past but that was the old me).

*Insert a 'Signs' quote*