Thai Coconut Corn and Mushroom Soup

Let’s go ahead and call me Milestone Millie for this one.

“But it’s just soup, Bev. Let the dream die.”

Ohhhh but I can’t. And I won’t. (I’m gazing off into the future with hope, stage left.)

A) I actually craved actual food from the actual ground.

B) Aaron had nothing to do with this.

C) I had enough energy to turn on some jams (ew), do a little bee-bop in the kitchen and cook this actual food from the actual ground without my face dragging on the floor.

D) I’m giving you more than half a lousy single photo.

E) I remembered this brown wooden table top behind all my heavy tops and thought, “Oh I can lift you! I’ve missed you, little board. You’re pretty. Don’t tell anyone I’m talking to you out loud, okay?”

It might be paradoxical or oxymoronic or paramoronical or oxydoxic to make a warm spicy soup in the summer. But hi, there’s sweet summer corn in it. And hello, there’s fresh garden red bell peppers in it. And bonjour, there’s velvety spinach in it. And hola, there’s spongy fungi in it. And Nǐ hǎo, there’s beautiful pungent garlic in it. And konnichiwa, there are 27 truckloads of fresh lime juice in it. And s̄wạs̄dī, there’s super summery Thai curry paste in it.

Wait.

Eh, it works.

Once the prep work is done, this seriously takes 10 minutes to pull together. Now if that’s not a summery way of cooking you can CALL ME LIAR MOUTH.

Oh wait we were calling me Millie. Never mind.

Makethismakethismakethis. I can’t tell you how simple and ding dang glorious it is. AND I forgot to tell you about the coconut milk. Goodness to the frickin’ gracious the coconut milk. It’s like tucking your tongue into a bed made of nothing but silk blankets.

Night night.

Thai Coconut Corn and Mushroom Soup:

What it took for 4:

* 2 Tbs. Thai red curry paste
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 (14 oz) can coconut milk
* 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
* 4 ears sweet corn, kernels removed
* 1 red bell pepper, sliced into small strips
* 8 oz baby bella mushrooms, lightly rinsed and sliced
* 4 cups baby spinach
* juice of 1-2 limes (to taste)
* 1/2 tsp fish sauce (don’t be scared)
* coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
* 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish
* 2 Thai bird chiles, thinly sliced (optional, for garnish)

Bring a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the curry paste and press it into the pot, releasing the oils. Do this for about a minute. Add the garlic and 1/3 cup coconut milk and stir to combine and bloom and become fragrant. Oh yes.

Then add the rest of the coconut milk and chicken stock. As it gets warmer, taste it. Add as much salt and pepper as you need to bring out the good flavors. A few little pinches.

Then add the corn, red bell pepper and mushrooms. Let simmer about 5 minutes, until everything is heated through. Add the spinach to wilt. Taste it. Almost there.

Take it off the heat and squeeze in a good Tbs. or two of lime juice, along with the fish sauce. Stir and taste. Like it? Oh yeah. Add the cilantro and maybe one last pinch of salt if needed.

Serve garnished with cilantro and sliced Thai bird chiles. And more lime wedges! I’m obsessed with lime.

Um, yum.

It almost hurts.