Don't get me wrong, I love the farm share. But come mid-week, I am using up veggies, not eating them. Well this week, on top of everything in the fridge, we ended up with a stock pile of food that our neighbors left us. They moved to Abu Dhabi last weekend. Yep. Abu Dhabi. Welcome to Cambridge.

Anyway... LOTS to use and little time. Enter: soup. Yay, soup! Last night (after a long night at work) we had frozen "farm share stew." Tonight, more soup. Kyle is still at work; I hope he doesn't mind.

I have been in the mood for corn chowder. I have no idea why and we don't even have any fresh corn. But... neighbors that moved to Abu Dhabi (NTMTAD for future reference) left a 1 lb. bag of frozen corn and I had a can of corn in the pantry from when I meant to buy creamed corn and can't, apparently, read labels.

So, without further ado:

Alli's corn chowder (including only things found in her kitchen -- either farm share or NTMTAD's -- and based on various recipes)

1/2 quart sized Ziplock of frozen bacon ends from the farm share
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
1.5 onions (discard the slightly old parts and prioritize onions for future use) diced
1 clove garlic
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch (stalk? head? you never answered that question) slightly weedy celery, chopped finely
5 red potatoes from the NTMTAD's pantry, peeled and diced
2 shakes of worchestershire
5 cups chicken stock (4 from Costco, 1 made by Kyle)
2 cups milk
1/4 cup sake
2 t. arrow root
sea salt
pepper
dried thyme
cayenne pepper
coriander seed
2/3 c. (maybe) finely grated parmesan from NTMTAD's fridge

Cook bacon bits and pieces in stock pot. Remove when done and set aside to drain. Using bacon grease (no more than a tablespoon or so), saute onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper, and garlic until tender. Add potatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Remove 2 cups (heavy on the solids) to a blender and blend until smooth. Add back to the stock pot. Add the milk, worchestershire, salt, pepper, thyme, cayenne, and coriander to taste. Mix about 2 t. arrowroot powder with whatever sake is left in the kitchen (1/4 cup), add sake to the grocery list, and add to soup to thicken. Add parmesan.

Yum.
In case it's relevant, NTMTAD also left a bottle of wine and a bottle of champagne, which may or may not have contributed to this post. (not both, of course, or either whole bottle. A glass.)