Quick Corn and Chicken Chowder and a Triple Play!

It's a Triple Play!!  The San Francisco Giants, my home team, won the World Series, my dad had a birthday and I have been honored with an award!! 

81 years ago the world became a better place with the birth of my dad.  Born in Red Wing, Minnesota to German immigrants, he met and married my mom while in the Air Force in California and had my sister and I in the years following.  My foodie roots may have been established as I was treated like royalty at his restaurant, The Windjammer, in Tiburon, CA in my younger years.  I can still taste the Heath Bar Sundae that the waiters would make special for me if I ate all my dinner, and I have fond memories of peering out of his upper floor office window at the twinkling Ghirardelli sign across the San Francisco Bay.

I'm extraordinarily lucky to have my parents living only 10 minutes east of me and to have them be a such big part of my family's life.  They have dutifully attended numerous soccer matches, football games, dance recitals and even elementary school Open Houses.  Holidays were a special treat to have the grandparents here to help put together a few of those "some assembly required" Santa projects and then to be here smiling as the kids woke up to see what Santa brought.  Today, with the kids beyond that stage, we enjoy leisurely Thanksgiving and Christmas afternoons as the Turkey cooks away.

Last night we celebrated Dad's 81 years with a heart-healthy Corn and Chicken Chowder that was quick to put together and perfect for a busy school night.  With the farmers market corn dwindling, a bag of Trader Joe's frozen white corn made for easy prep of this body warming soup.  I had thought ahead and made extra chicken from our dinner the prior evening which only need a quick chopping to round out the meal.  Flavored with onion, chilies and celery and then then rounded out with a dose of dried thyme and a fresh grind of pepper this soup was the perfect birthday meal.

Quick Chicken and Corn Chowder

adapted from Cooking Light

1 Tbs butter
generous 1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 jalaneño, seeded and minced
2 1/2 Tbs all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cups roasted chicken, shredded
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1/4 tsp dried thyme
dash of cayenne
salt to taste
avocado for garnish

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onion, celery and jalapeño and cook for about 3 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.  Add the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Stir in the milk and remaining ingredients, simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.  Serve with avocado and freshly ground pepper if desired.

Happy Birthday Dad!!

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I have been remiss in acknowledging the honor of receiving the One Lovely Blog Award!  As a fairly new food blogger, I can't tell you all how much receiving any sort of recognition means to me.  The fact that I have been honored with this award 4 times in the last 2 weeks absolutely floors me.  A hearty thank you to Gina from What's for Dinner Across State Lines, Wendy form the Weekend Gourmet, Gerard from Bistro Gerard and Elisabeth from Food and Thrift Finds.  

New friends are one of the most rewarding things that I have found from food blogging.  These 4 bloggers have truly become a part of my life as I have followed them for months.  

I feel as though I have met Gina's cousin Robyn while she was in Texas and have also frequently wished that I lived next door to her so we could share that cup of coffee along with some of the wonderful dishes coming from her kitchen.  I look forward to Gina's sense of humor and am so disappointed that I am not able to actually meet her in person as she attends the Food Blog Convention this weekend.  I'm looking forward to hearing all about it though!

And then there is Gerard... oh how I wish I could meet him in person as well!  His comments always bring a smile to my face as he follows the cooking in his kitchen.  I'm with him... I really do wonder what happens to the food after the "use by" date??!!  Good question Gerard!

I remember reading Wendy's first blog post and she had me hooked right away.  She was a challenger in Foodbuzz's Project Food blog and produced some wonderful dishes.  Wonderful recipes are always being shared on her blog with a side dish of real life that I look forward to reading about.

And lastly, Elisabeth.  Elisabeth give us wonderful recipes and some amazingly thrifty finds.  Both sides appeal to me.  I'm always on the lookout for that special deal as well.  Her recent Heart Shaped Carrot Cake has been one of my favorite posts.  

Gina's award came also with a tag and a few questions:

1)  If you could turn back time, who would you spend it with and what would you eat with them?  I would turn the time back to visit with my grandmother.  I didn't meet her many times in my life as she lived so far away, but I can still taste the preserved raspberries that she always had for me.  She also made the most wonderful Peanut Butter Cookies.  I would love to sit and chat with her about cooking now that I'm older.

2)  Do you cook for others, or just the sheer pleasure of it, which would you prefer?  I definitely do both!  Basically I find it a pleasure to cook for others!  ;)

3)  What item do you consider a must have in the kitchen?  My garlic press... it's a cheap, years old little thing, but it works wonders. 

4)  If I told you your secret ingredients in your chopped basket were tomatoes, pears, & anchovies, what would you make?   Oohh... that's a tough one.  As I talked about in our prior post, I'm a little picky.  I would most likely make some sort of salad with a balsamic vinaigrette and blue cheese.  

5)  Have you even traveled a long distance, just to go eat?  Not a real long distance, maybe an hour or so?  When both kids finally went all day to school my husband and I would take long drives and find a lovely little out of the way place for lunch.

6)  If you had all day in the kitchen, what would you make?  I've always wanted to make fresh croissants. 

7)  What is your favorite part of blogging?  I love the people!  I never expected to "meet" so many people when I started blogging.  I feel like I have friends all over the world and thousands of delicious recipes with recommendations at my fingertips!

8)  Are there blogging skills you are working on?  Photography!!  I had NO idea how hard it is to photograph food.  My designing skills are definitely not up to Martha Stewart's either, but I hope to be able to put together a nice table setting one day.

Thanks Gina!  

This post is submitted to Kahakai Kitchen's Souper Sundays!