I felt like soup again today, but was in more of a southwestern mood,
so I decided to make a corn soup. I had recently purchased some
interesting chili powders, and this was my first chance to use them.
The corn ends up sweet and chewy. Between that and the grainy
polenta, the soup has a fantastic mouthfeel.

3 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups frozen corn
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground ancho chili
1/2 tsp ground guajillo chili
2 serrano chilies, sliced into rings
1 med onion, diced
1/4 cup polenta (dry)
veggie bouillon cube
2 cups water
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped

1) Heat the olive oil.
2) Add the corn and heat till it thaws and dries out a bit.
3) Add the cumin, and keep roasting and stirring till the corn starts
to brown.
4) Add the ground chili, and saute a bit longer.
5) Add the onion and green chili, and saute till the onion browns.
6) Add the polenta, and saute till it starts to change color.
7) Add the bouillon cube and water, and bring to a boil.
8) Reduce heat, and simmer till it reduces by a third and the polenta
is soft.
9) Add milk, mix, and return to a boil.
10) Remove from heat, and garnish with cilantro.

This makes one large serving, and is pretty spicy.

Varying the amount of milk lets you control salt and chili heat pretty
well. I was out of garlic, or I'd've added it with the green chili
and onion. The hardest part is not just eating the corn after step 6.
(I think it'd make a fantastic side dish at that point.)


Enjoy!
N