Veggie Corn Chowder (and a national holiday)

Today's a big day for Argentina - not only are we celebrating the yearly revolution day but today is the country's bicentennial. To me, this equates to even more food and fireworks. Weeee! It's traditional to eat stew today, locro in particular. But Guille's mom is out of town and I'm not going to attempt a family dish (but Katie does a good job here). So I spent all day in the kitchen yesterday working on my soup repertoire.

Corn Chowder

• 2 T. butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 T. flour
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 carrot, shredded
• 1/2 t. thyme
• 1 can creamed corn
• 2 c. corn (I used frozen)
• 1-2 c. vegetable stock
• 1 c. milk
• 1/3 c. cream
• 1 large potato, peeled and cubed
• black pepper and salt to taste

Saute onion and garlic in butter, when they start to soften whisk in flour, stirring constantly for a minute. Add in pepper and carrot (Add 1 T. EVOO if it's too stiff). It will be pasty but allow to cook for a few minutes. Season with thyme and a shake of salt. Add one cup veggie stock and simmer until veggies are soft. Add creamed corn, milk, and cream. Bring to a boil and add potato and corn - drop heat to a simmer, add salt and a good amount of black pepper to your taste and cook until potatoes are tender (about 20 minutes), adding stock if necessary to thin stew to your preference. You can re-heat this on the stove top with 1/4 c. milk or stock.

Throw in some empanadas! These are from Safyta (Dorrego, entre Mendoza y San Juan) and, yes, that's a little powdered sugar sprinkled on top of humita empanadas. Super delicious.

Here's the chowder and chili on a plate - yep, these are pretty thick. Happy 200!