Southwestern corn and potato soup

I keep forgetting about this soup. It really is one of the tastiest soups I've had - but it's in a cookbook that I don't use that much, and so I forget about it. But I had lots of corn in my CSA box this week, and I happened to have limes and cilantro in my fridge...and sweet potatoes too... you can see why I thought of this soup. Anyway, my mom liked it so much, she made me promise to put it on the blog, so here it is. Be sure and serve it with lots of lime and cilantro, cause that kind-of makes the whole thing. Squeeze some lime juice into your bowl, don't just use it for pretty. The book I got it from is called Moosewood Restaurant Low-fat Favorites by The Moosewood Collective. I have a bunch of their books, and I really like the recipes, but I don't use this particular book that often - maybe I should give it another look...

Southwestern Corn and Potato Soup

• 1 cup finely chopped onions
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1 small fresh chile, seeded and minced (I left this out - it shouldn't really be that hot, but I didn't want that to be the reason Picky wouldn't try it)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 cups vegetable stock (I used homemade chicken stock)
• 2 tsp ground cumin (mmmm, I love cumin...)
  
• 1 medium sweet potato, diced (about 2 cups - I peel it)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped (ok, ok - I didn't have red...I used green instead - is that wrong? It still tasted good...)
  
• 3 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
  
• salt to taste
• lime wedges
• finely chopped cilantro leaves (you know, I didn't chop them at all, and thought it was great...)

In a covered soup pot, simmer the onions, garlic, chile, and salt in 1 cup of the vegetable stock for about 10 minutes, or until the onions are soft. In a small bowl, make a paste with the cumin and a tablespoon of the stock, stir it into the pot, and simmer for another 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and the remaining stock and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the sweet potatoes soften. Add the bell pepper and corn and simmer, covered, for another 10 minutes, or until all of the vegetables are tender.

Puree about half of the soup in a blender or food processor and return to the pot (or just stick your immersion blender in and give it a whir...). The soup will be creamy and thick. Add salt to taste and gently reheat on low heat. If desired, serve with lime wedges and top with cilantro.

I could see adding cooked chicken and making this a one-pot meal. I served it with bean and cheese quesadillas (just cheese for Picky). She served some of the soup to herself, carefully squeezing some lime on top and adding a sprig of cilantro. Then she ignored it and ate her cheese quesadilla. At least it's making it onto her plate now, that's progress, isn't it?