Grandma’s Corn Chowder
Certain things bring back floods of memory. Warm, late summer days, make me think of all thing corn: fresh, buttery sweet corn, my mom’s creamed corn, my grandma’s corn chowder, that one time the cows were out in the corn and we were chasing them by moonlight.
This being many years ago, we didn’t yet have kids. My husband and I were getting ready to go to bed after a long day. He was not yet working on the farm, but helped out as needed. He was still quite green at cattle work, but always willingly lend a hand if only we asked. Just as sweet sleep approached us, our phone began ringing.
“COWS ARE OUT!”
Quickly, we donned our work clothes and boots so we could rush to the farm. The cows were indeed out and out everywhere.
Dairy cows are overall easy to herd. Our milk cows are the best at being guided to where they need to go as we herd them daily for milking. Unfortunately, these weren’t the milk cows. The cattle that got out this night were heifers. They were much less used to being herded and there were many of them. They were energetic and wild. And they were particularly enjoying their escapade.
I grabbed my flashlight. Darn. the batteries were dead. It didn’t work. Thankfully the moon was full and bright enough to see what was going on for the most part.
It was utter chaos. There were so many of them spread over so much of the farm. All the areas they traveled were unfenced. Some heifers were in the front yard, some by the gain bin set up, and many out in the quite tall field of corn next to the farmhouse.
In effort to find all the wandering women who were enjoying their newfound freedom, we divided up. I ran out back towards the bin set up. I found a group of 3-5 heifers. Upon seeing me all but one darted behind the back barn to avoid being herded back to the safety of their field. While the moon shone bright, the one heifer lost her way from the rest. She seemed disoriented and lost. All of a sudden she saw me and took off! But unfortunately for her, she didn’t look directly in front of her. Wham! She ran smack dab into the side of a 10,000 bushel grain bin. Staggering back a moment, she quickly regained composure and ran off into the corn field. Shocked and humored, I ran out into the field to find her joining another group of renegade heifers.
I promptly realized both my husband and my father were out in the thick of the corn as the vast majority of the heifers were on an utter rampage there. The corn was so tall that despite the light of the moon you had no idea if man nor beast was near you unless you heard the shouts of another or the pounding of hooves. Only being mere rows of corn separated from my husband didn’t allow me to see what happened next. But I heard it.
We were tired, discouraged, and yet energized by the adrenaline pumping through our bodies. As we searched desperately for the lost cattle, we quickly heard the rumble of hooves and the swishing of corn. At last! We found some! Or rather, they found us.
I knew a few ran right past me, but they were going in the right direction so I was pleased. I heard my husband yell out some choice words. Now, chasing cattle is truly a test of one’s sanctification. My father who never swore in front of us growing up would often let some swear words fly in the midst of chasing cattle. With a contrite heart, he always came and apologized to us afterwards if we kids were within earshot. So the swearing didn’t shock me. What startled me was the way my husband yelled out. I had never heard him have that particular inflection in his voice before. I quickly shouted back to him, “Devin! Are you okay? What happened?”
The bight light of the moon was no match for the darkness of the tall corn. We quickly found each other and still startled he gasped, “a cow just ran into me!” I stepped over to his row of corn and asked, “are you okay!?” “Yeah, but I might need to change my shorts. I about crapped myself! I didn’t see her coming, and she didn’t see me!” He responded before we both burst into laughter.
We finally corralled the wayward women and got them safe into their pens. But I will never forget the night when the moon was bright, the heifers were on the loose, the corn was tall, and my husband had his baptism by fire (or by cow trampling) into cattle work.
Grandma’s Corn Chowder
Ingredients:
4-6 slices of bacon
1 onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2-3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon thyme
pinch red pepper flakes, to taste
2 cups corn, fresh or frozen
2-3 potatoes, chopped (I used red potatoes and left the sinks on)
4 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup sour cream or greek yogurt
1 tablespoon arrowroot starch or tapioca starch
salt and pepper to taste
Stovetop Instructions:
Cook the bacon in a large pot on the stove. Once cooked through, drain all but a couple tablespoons of the grease. Cook the onion and celery in the pot until softened.
Add in the garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant or about 30 seconds. Add in the corn, potatoes, and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft but not falling apart.
Add in the sour cream. Mix the starch of your choice with just a bit of water to make it into a slurry. Add the slurry into the the pot. Cook for another couple minutes until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Crockpot Instructions:
(My number are off and I know it. Please ignore it. Thanks!)
Do steps 1 and 2 of the stovetop instructions.
Put everything in your pot to the crock pot. Add in the corn, potatoes, and chicken broth. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or until the potatoes are tender.
Do step 3, but you may have to wait a bit longer for it to thicken. Enjoy!
Notes: I love to add chicken to this! Serve it with some warm, homemade bread and it’s a perfect cooler, late summer day meal. It’ll make the best memories for you and your family! Just watch out for cows in the corn!
