Summer's Bounty: Sweet Summer Corn and Anaheim Pepper Broth

Hello all! I just got done with my first week at the new job and I am pretty tired, but I’m so enjoying it! We all worked from home this Friday because the Baltimore Grand Prix is currently taking place, and my office is blocked in by the road barriers they have set up. Safety first, I guess. I’m not at all interested in car racing, but supposedly this event is going to be bringing a lot of money to the city as it picks up over the next few years. I’m excited about that because while Baltimore is an awesome place to live, we still have work to do.

Speaking of Baltimore being an awesome place to live, the summer produce has been and continues to be insanely good this year. Last year I got three ears of corn once. Organic corn is notoriously difficult to get a good yield from because it’s so susceptible to pests. But One Straw Farm is increasingly full of farming geniuses, apparently, because so far I’ve gotten three weeks of corn, with at least 5 ears each week. Yeah, I’m a lucky girl. Here was this week’s full list:

Anaheim peppers

Red leaf lettuce

Green beans

Heirloom tomatoes

Potatoes

Watermelon

Red onions

Yellow squash

Obviously we are going crazy over the watermelon, but I’m a little sad the corn has come to an end (most likely). Not to worry, though – each time I devoured an ear of corn straight from the oven, I cut the cob in half and stored it in a big container in my freezer. Anytime I chopped up some onion and didn’t use it all, or my carrots started to get a little dried out, I threw all of that in the container too. Corn cobs make for some of the best. veggie broth. ever. and I’m here to share this simple and crazy flavorful and fragrant recipe with you.

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All of the corn and some of the onion and the carrots were previously frozen, but I added a whole red onion and a couple of anaheim peppers fresh from this week, as well as some fresh garlic from previous weeks, to really take this broth over the top. You will be really sorry if you miss out on this one, guys. I would honestly eat this straight up as a soup, maybe with some scallions, but I also used it in several upcoming recipes that you’ll also love. Without further ado I’ll take it to the (laughably easy) recipe.

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Sweet Summer Corn & Anaheim Pepper Broth

It’s super easy to make whatever quantity you like of this broth. Cook time, ingredients and ingredient amounts, and additional seasonings can all be customized by you with success nearly guaranteed.

Olive oil
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 small red onion, roughly chopped
2-3 anaheim peppers, seeds and stems removed, roughly chopped
1 medium carrot or a handful of baby carrots, roughly chopped
3-4 corn cobs (with or without kernels, silk and husks; frozen or fresh)

Water
1 tsp liquid smoke

2 tb Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (or substitute soy sauce or tamari)

Make this crazy good broth. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in the bottom of your biggest saucepan. When it’s shimmering, add garlic and onion, stir, and cook on medium-low heat while you chop up the rest of the vegetables. Add carrots and anaheim peppers and stir. Add corn and then water to fill the saucepan, and finally, stir in liquid smoke and liquid aminos.

Bring everything to a full boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for at least 45 minutes (I did an hour). Uncover and cook for another 10-15 minutes to reduce the broth slightly. Strain with a mesh strainer. Give the cobs a good squeeze to get all of the liquid out of them! Keep in the refrigerator for a few days, or in the freezer for quite a lot longer, though our broth never lasts very long…

Note: I generally don’t salt my stock, because I prefer to control the salt levels in individual dishes. You can feel free to add salt if you like.

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