Visions of Vidalias Danced in My Head

What do you daydream about when your mind has the luxury to wander aimlessly?  I do some of my best creative thinking on a spin bike at the Bounds Family YMCA.  My body responds automatically to the commands of the drill sergeant (I love them all) in charge that day, leaving my imagination free to tiptoe happily in any direction it chooses.  Not so long ago when I was doing church work full time, I could put together whole sermons during a one hour class.  The research and preparation I had done was stashed in various corners of my thought-life so I was able to pick up a little idea from here, a vague notion from there, a jolt of inspiration from some other recess of my mind until a pattern or narrative began to coalesce.  It was not unusual for me to leave my hour of exercise fully ready to go back to my office and hammer out a 20 minute sermon.  Mind you, this was after several days of reading and research and "grinding" without finding the single thread that would take me from start to finish.  The grunt work had been done--I was just looking for that spark of inspiration.


Many of us do our best problem solving when our minds have the chance to float untethered for a spell.  Others watch creative ideas rise to the surface, catching a strand of inspiration that gives birth to something bright and new.  Some will allow their minds to meander back in time to memorable moments in the past.  Many will have thoughts of loved ones occupy the space created, wondering and wanting and wishing all sorts of good things for those who hold their heartstrings.  Hope is a marvelous commodity and one of the good gifts God bestows on those who give their HEART space over to him.  Most of our daydreams harbor some element of hopefulness, working through what is and imagining something in the future that is a little bit better, for ourselves, for the ones we love, for our environment and community.  Hope is only a breath away from prayer, and prayer is the most sacred communion we have with our Creator, allowing our thoughts to grasp hold of the will and ways of the One who is always higher, other, stronger and ABLE.  When hope gives way to prayer, anything is possible.  Hope actualized as prayer reminds us that all things may not be made whole and beautiful and perfect in this lifetime.  As a matter of fact, they most certainly will not.  But hope allows us to take hold of the love of our Creator, who came before and will still BE after, and embrace the long view of creation, a view that promises us that in God's economy, all things will be made new and whole ULTIMATELY.

John 14:27  "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."


I've done gone to preaching, so now let's talk a little bit about food.  Sometimes when I am not engrossed in deep theological pondering and my legs are spinning madly to keep my cardiovascular system healthy in spite of my predilection for decadent dining, my thoughts meander curiously through my kitchen, checking the pantry and refrigerator for hidden jewels.  As I did just that in a recent spin class, I thought about a big box of Vidalia onions my husband brought home and placed as an offering upon the food preparation altar.  He receives such a box annually from a generous business associate, God bless him!  My efforts not to let those lovely ghostly white orbs go to waste is the culinary equivalent of a fast and furious spin class.  How wrong it is to let even one of those Vidalias perish without having given its loveliness over to some flavorful delicacy!  So the dilemma of the day is what to do with a Vidalia or two.  I tried to think about how a Vidalia looks and feels and smells and tastes.  It is a completely different animal from the small yellow onions I use for cooking the rest of the year, mild and mellow and much less pungent.  It occurred to me that a well-matched companion to a Vidalia onion would be some of the seasonal sweet corn now in abundance at the markets. 

I thought about other ingredients just hanging around in my refrigerator and knew there was a poblano pepper, plenty of carrots and celery and some heavy cream left over from my week of ice cream blogging (it's a dirty job, but somebody had to do it.)  I decided I wanted a little protein added to the mix, so what better friend for my veggies than some good quality bacon.  I happen to LOVE the thick sliced Conecuh bacon produced just a few miles up I-65, so now I've got a real party about to happen in a pot.  (Do you see why I have to spin?  The whole time I'm exercising I'm contemplating sizzling bacon fat and heavy cream.  There is something seriously wrong with me!)


So, anyway, while the Silver King and Queen corn is still stellar, give this a try.  It seems somehow counter-intuitive to make hot soup this time of year, but with the addition of a little fresh cilantro and a garnish of sour cream or crumbled goat cheese to cool things down, it works nicely with the summer heat. 


Poblano Corn Chowder 


2 pieces bacon
2 Tb. butter
1 medium Vidalia onion, chopped
1 poblano pepper, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
6 ears worth sliced corn, milky part scraped off along with it!
2 cups chicken broth (reserve 1/4 cup)
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp. sugar
2 Tb. flour
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste


1.  Chop bacon into 2 inch pieces and fry in a large pot.  Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon when it is crisp.  Set aside.
2.  Add butter to the bacon grease in the pot along with the onion, poblano pepper, celery and carrot.  Saute until soft, about 5-6 minutes.
3.  Add the corn, chicken broth (except 1/4 cup), cream, sugar and cayenne pepper.  Simmer about 15 minutes to blend flavors.
4.  Mix flour with reserved 1/4 cup of broth.  Mix well with a small whisk and add to the pot, stirring as the soup thickens.
5.  Add the cilantro and simmer about 5 more minutes.  Add salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste.
6.  Serve garnished with sour cream OR crumbled goat cheese AND crumbled bacon.

Note:  If you want to add some raw shrimp to this, it would be a VERY good idea.  You would do this in "Step 5" at the same time you add the cilantro.  I would lean toward using the sour cream instead of the goat cheese for garnish if you are using shrimp in the recipe.