Three Sisters Chowder

I wanted to cook a meal with intent.  I planned to make what I would call Three Sister’s Chowder.  Remember the three sisters planting from my last blog?  I wanted to build a chowder based on those three ingredients; corn, beans and squash.  I also wanted as many of the ingredients as possible to be homegrown.  I made my weekly trip to the farmer’s market with this in mind.

I only stopped at booths that displayed the “Homegrown” sign and visited with each vendor inquiring as to who grew the produce.  I made my purchases based on this information as well as my instincts.  It was important to me that the food was grown with a positive intent.  I chose corn, butternut squash, onions, new potatoes, heatless jalapenos and sweet & spicy peppers.  On the way home, I stopped by Whole Foods and picked up some organic chicken broth and a can of organic black beans.  I had cream in my refrigerator, so I was set.

I wanted to make this chowder for our writer’s group.  Paula started this group about a year ago mostly to provide motivation for herself and a friend of ours, Linda, to keep working on their novels.  Linda is writing novel, Call of the Loon, and Paula was working on the revisions of Shadowboxer.  We have grown into a group of eight on a path to explore our writing.  My blog was birthed in this group.

 This group is as diverse as the writing projects we bring to it.  Our ages range from 14 to 60ish and much of the spectrum of life experience is represented here.  Besides Paula and Linda, there is Joey, 14. Although she is but at the beginning of her life, I often think she is wise beyond her years and on the precipice of genius.  It has been a joy to watch her writing improve in content and structure over this past year.

Another member of our group it has been fun to watch grow is Jacob.  At 18, it is wonderful to see him coming into his own as a young man and his writing has certainly reflected that.  He has a talent for weaving a tale of suspense with an unexpected ending.  Jeff is a dungeons and dragons sort of guy and currently writes for a young audience.  His themes focus on bullying.  I encourage him to get his stories published.  I think there are children, victims of bullying, who could benefit from what Jeff has to say.  He has managed to finish two manuscripts in the relatively short time he has been a part of the group.

Jessica is our newest member.  I am looking forward to getting to know her better as we hear her novel unfold from week to week.  She is also a chef at a local Italian restaurant.  Her second week, she brought handmade manicotti for dinner.  Oh my goodness!  Those were the best manicotti I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating.  I am not only looking forward to hearing more about her novel, I am looking forward to learning from her in the kitchen as well.

Chris is our biggest fan.  Although he isn’t a writer, he is an equally important part of the group.  He has been here every week as Paula struggled with revisions on Shadowboxer and he was here to help us celebrate as it was finished.  Fittingly, the first shipment of the Shadowboxer books was delivered on a meeting night.   I am so proud of Paula and we are all fortunate to have an accomplished writer to lead us in our endeavors.

Paula is currently working on a novel, Graveyards, about an Oklahoma City cop struggling with her sexual identity along with realizing she is a vampire.  The main character, Ash had a passing role in Shadowboxer.

We all wait anxiously each week to hear the latest installments of Graveyards, Paula’s new novel; or to hear what has transpired in Jo’s life. Jo is the main character of Linda’s book.  A Call of the Loon is a whimsical reflection of Jo and her chosen family.  I feel like I know Jo and I genuinely care what happens to her.  Linda has made me laugh and cry.  She has made me get a bit pissed at Jo, too.  That is the beauty Linda’s writing.  She creates characters that are full and complex.  I will be so happy for Linda when she finishes this project, but I will be a bit sad, too.  I will miss Jo.

We generally gather for a meal before we begin our meeting.  It is a time of wonderful fellowship.  I wanted to prepare this soup with loving intent for a group I have come to love.

As I began cooking, I was filled with pride knowing that the result would be a pot of loving nourishment and comfort to share with our friends.  I began this dish as I do many with chopped onions, garlic and red pepper flakes sautéed in olive oil until they have merged into a perfect base for the soup.  Meanwhile, I split the peppers and roasted them in a 425 degree oven until they were roasted to point of almost blackened.

 

I took about half the peppers and added them to the onion mixture saving the rest to add near the end of the cooking time.  I cut the corn off the cobs and set it aside with the peppers.  I processed the squash into cubes and then quartered the potatoes.  By this time, the onions and peppers had been transformed into a flavorful paste that would infuse the chowder with its goodness.  I added the corn cobs to the pot and covered them with chicken broth.  I also added a little salt and black pepper to boost the flavor.

When the cobs had added there intense corn flavor to the broth, I removed them and added a few bay leaves.  This was after about 20 minutes or so.  I then added the squash and potatoes.  After about 20 more minutes, I checked the vegetables to make sure they were tender.  I removed the bay leaves and added the corn, beans and the last of the peppers.  After about 10 minutes, I did a final tasting for seasoning and turned off the heat.  I wanted to add the cream and finish the chowder immediately before our writers arrived.  I was proud of the result and knew it was wonderful.

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The evening of our meeting, I put the pot on the stove over a medium heat and added the cream.  I stirred the chowder often and kept a close eye on it.  I wanted it to gently heat as the cream blended with the other ingredients.  Soon, the chowder was heated waiting for our group to convene.  I had decided to pair the chowder with fresh tamales from Mariachi’s, a local Mexican market.

It fed my soul to watch everyone fill their bowls enjoying the meal I prepared for them.  Jessica hugged me telling me it was delicious.  This meant a lot especially from someone who is a professional chef.  Conversation was as abundant as the chowder and I could feel the camaraderie of our group as we enjoyed our meal together.

 As I began to eat, I felt the tension of my day begin to leave me, replaced by the comfort of the creamy, spicy chowder.  The sweet corn and butternut squash blended with the spicy peppers to create a complexity of flavor that I so love.  The cream brought it all together, just as I intended.   I planned this meal for the comfort of my friends, but I have to say, the comfort was all mine!