No. 269: Tomato Corn Chowder with Bacon and Leeks, Late Summer Quesadilla, Apple Cake
Plus: Mussel curries, a new Martha's Vineyard cookbook, and a message from Mole on the power of cake.
🍅 🌽 Summer + Fall in A Bowl
Just in time for the cool September nights, the new issue of Martha’s Vineyard Magazine is hitting the newsstands. I’m excited that this edition has landed for two reasons: First, it’s gorgeous and full of interesting stories, so I’m ready to curl up in my comfortable chair to read it. Second, tucked in the back is my recipe for Tomato Corn Chowder with Bacon and Leeks – something I worked on over the summer, trying to anticipate how we were all going to feel in September and October.
I realized I was drawn to soup because of its innate ability to bridge the seasons. An early fall soup using late summer ingredients seemed the perfect way to keep one foot in each season. But working in advance, I never quite know if I will hit the right note. But this time – voila, the recipe and the cool nights arrived hand in hand.
I’m going to implore you to make this. Go out and gather a mess of ripe plum tomatoes and a bunch of corn and get to it on a Saturday or Sunday. It’s a little bit of work, but so worth it. I didn’t try freezing it (because we ate it all – and it’s a fairly big batch), but I feel sure you can.
My recipe for Harvest Minestrone was the starting point for this soup, but by replacing a lot of the veggies with tomatoes and corn (plus lots of Parmigiano), it came to resemble something like a fall version of Ben DeForest’s Island Fresca, only with bacon, leeks and thyme and a more chowder-like texture. Proof that tomatoes and corn together offer endless creativity!
🌽 🌽 🌽 Never Can Say Goodbye
Because, corn. So sue me! But I think you’ll really like the Little Corn, Shiitake, Spinach and Cheddar Quesadillas I made this weekend. I didn’t intend to focus on corn (again!); I was thinking more about mushrooms. I’ve been seeing a lot of nice shiitakes around (Mermaid Farm, Whippoorwill Farm and Ghost Island Farm) and also picked up some very fresh baby spinach at Morning Glory the other day. Honestly, spinach and mushrooms make a great mix in a lot of different things – frittatas, pastas, toasts – but for some reason the drop in daylight has me suddenly craving quesadillas. (Go figure!) And the addition of corn just seemed essential.
These little guys really hit the spot – and they are, ahem, season-appropriate. At least I didn’t suggest you make the Butternut, Fresh Corn, and Black Bean Quesadillas, though you’d better bookmark that recipe for a few weeks from now.
Honestly, these quesadillas are great without any garnish, but you should also feel free to make some fun condiments if you’re serving these for friends. Try Quick Limey Slaw, Limey Dipping Sauce, or Salsa Fresca with Serranos, Cilantro & Lime. That Salsa Fresca is also a good place to put that excess of hot peppers coming out of your garden.
🍄 Meaty Mushrooms
I’d be remiss if I brought up shiitakes and didn’t tell you about one of my favorite ways to cook them: on the grill. This recipe for Grilled Maple-Tamari Shiitakes originated way back in my first cookbook, Fast, Fresh & Green and it’s still a keeper. Lots of umami here!
If you’re a grain nerd like me, and you’re really feeling the caramelized-brown-mushroom thing, definitely make this: A Mushroom Melange with Short Grain Brown Rice, Parmigiano, Lemon, Parsley, and Toasted Almonds.
🔥 From Mushrooms to Mussels
Cooler weather also makes me think of cozy bistro food. Mussels! We actually have two takes on curried mussels – my Mussels in Tomato–Coconut Curry Broth with Spinach, Cilantro, and Lime and my fellow cookbook author Cathy Walthers’ Thai Coconut Curry Mussels. Both Yummy.
🍏 🍰 A for Apples, C is for Cake
In Charlie Mackesy’s utterly endearing illustrated book and film, The Boy, The Mole, the Fox, and the Horse, the mole tells the young boy, who is lost, “If at first you don’t succeed, have some cake.” The mole is basically obsessed with cake and its powers to sooth. I say yay for the mole, and yay for cake!
Cake season is upon us, and Abby Dodge has created so many for us, all stored in our Baking Together archives, that we could make a different one every week. Let’s start with her Cinnamon Apple Skillet Cake. So comforting. A slice of that after a bowl of soup? Perfect.
Happy September! Please remember to click on the little heart to “like” this post. Leave a comment! Shoot us an email (cookthevineyard@vineyardgazette.com) or message us right here on Substack if you’d like to ask a question. Thank you for being part of our Cook the Vineyard community.
— Susie Middleton
🍽️ What’s Happening
This afternoon, join me at the Chilmark Library at 4:30 p.m. I’ll be chatting with Jewish cooking authority Joan Nathan about her latest book, My Life in Recipes.
On Thursday, September 5 at 4:30 p.m. at the West Tisbury library, Thomas and Joyce Dresser will be talking about their new book, A Culinary History of Martha’s Vineyard.
Remember there are no more Wednesday West Tisbury Farmers’ Markets this year, but the Saturday market continues through October 26.
Islander Julia Blanter’s new cookbook, The Martha’s Vineyard Cookbook: 100 Recipes from the Island's Restaurants, Farmers, Fishermen & Food Artisans has just become available for pre-order. Photographed by Islander Jocelyn Filley, the book will be published by Rizzoli books on March 25, 2025.
Photos: Martha’s Vineyard Magazine cover, Gabriela Herman; Thai Coconut Curry Mussels, Catherine Walthers; bartender, Jeanna Shepard; all others, Susie Middleton.
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Susie, you're making me hungry!! Your recipes and my CSA are so inspiring.
I want to make ALL of these dishes!