Vegetable Corn Chowder - Vegan and Oil-Free

Do you love corn? Corn chowder is one of my favorites, especially when I use fresh sweet farmer's market corn right off the cob. 

You are going to love this flavorful high fiber, low fat easy Instant Pot soup that of course can also be made in a regular pot too. The bonus is that not only does it taste good hot, the next day, leftovers taste really good chilled as well. 

I grew up in New Jersey. the Garden State, and during the summer the local farmer's market supplied us with lots of ripe delicious produce all season long. 

  

When I got married, we moved 10 minutes away across the bridge to Pennsylvania where we still seem to have lots of farmer's markets and fresh beautiful produce.

Mid July begins corn season in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and our corn is sweet and plentiful. We can't get enough of it and eat it a few times a week until the season is over. A local farm grows non-GMO corn which is a big plus!

I usually get to the local farm stand about once a week to purchase a dozen ears of corn that last us throughout the week. 

In addition to eating the corn on the cob raw or lightly cooked, I like to try to find other recipes to enjoy it. 

This week I made a delicious and very easy vegetable corn chowder.

I used a variety of vegetables including carrots, cabbage, parsley, celery, potatoes and the fresh corn. 

In addition to cooking corn in the soup, I topped each bowl with fresh corn kernels (uncooked) that I cut directly off the cob. They were crunchy and sweet.

Eating raw kernels right off the cob without cooking them is like eating fruit.

In the past, I've also used raw corn kernels in salads such as my recipe link: black bean and corn salad with artichokes and tomatoes.

Do you like corn on the cob? How do you eat it? Do you get it fresh and locally grown?

Ingredients:

1 cup of chopped onions 

2 cups of sliced or diced carrots

3 cups of sliced green cabbage

1 cup of sliced or diced celery

1/2 cup of parsley

2 cups of corn kernels (freshly cut off the cob tastes great) 

4 cups of vegetable broth (or more to cover vegetables)

1 cup of water

1/8 teaspoon of cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of onion powder

Optional: nut milk of choice for blending to add creaminess to the soup. 

Directions:

Add the onions, carrots, cabbage, celery, parsley, corn, broth, water, and seasoning to the Instant Pot. Set to pressure cook for 5 minutes. When done, allow steam to release naturally for 5 minutes and then release steam manually according to the manufacturers instructions When all steam is released, carefully remove the lid. Using an immersion blender, blend soup until almost creamy but leaving some

chunkiness. If desired, blend in nut milk (1 cup) for a creamier texture.