Sunny sweetcorn soup

This summer has been lovely, but now autumn has decided it wants a look in and seems to have arrived somewhat early. The air is decidedly cooler and today in particular is looking rather bleak and grey - for Brits, its a typical bank holiday Monday!

Tiny squash coming!

However, the gorgeous, fresh produce that's around at the moment should bring rays of sunshine into anyones life. The hedgerows are laden with berries, fruit trees heavy with magnificent bounty (my apples this year are just huge!) and my tiny little veg patch has been providing us with gorgeous beans and outstandingly flavoursome leeks, whilst I obsessively monitor the growth of some tiny squash.
One vegetable that has been particularly awesome this year is sweet corn - fabulously juicy kernels, so sweet, tender and firm, completely superior to any tinned or frozen variety and great example of seasonal eating.
Sweetcorn has a bit of a bad boy reputation though in the 'dieting' world; higher in calories than other veg as they contain a higher concentration of simple sugars. Nutritionally, though, it's fabulous as it's packed full of phytonutrients and antioxidants that keep your body healthy at a cellular level, along with beta-carotene and some of the B vitamins. But the main benefit is it's fibre content.
Fibre is essential to keep us healthy - not only does it aid the process of digestion by moving things along nicely in the gut (less time for toxins to build up and be absorbed), it releases it's sugars more slowly and actually feeds the gut friendly bacteria to keep it happy and healthy. Processed foods, animal and dairy products contain no fibre, so you need lots of other sources to help things along and stop your gut from becoming stressed and feeble. Which is one reason (of many) why a plant based whole food diet is beneficial to your overall health and well being. And if you can't go the whole hog, then big up your plant fibre intake - your tummy will love you for it!
I love eating sweetcorn on the cob, boiled and seasoned with a little black pepper, with the juices dribbling down my chin in an unladylike manner! However, this soup is another great way of getting all the benefits and flavour of that gorgeous sunny corn, and it can be eaten with slightly more finesse!!
A warming soup for a miserable day in summer - sunshine in a bowl, dairy free and delicious!
Sweetcorn soup

3 sweet corn cobs, nibs cuts off
2 carrots diced
1 onion diced
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
3 small potatoes/1 medium diced
sprinkle thyme
1 litre vegetable stock
salt and pepper
Heat a small amount of olive oil (or water if you don't like oil) in a large pan and sauté the onion and carrot gently until soft. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute but don't let it burn. Add the potatoes, sweetcorn, thyme and stock, bring to the boil then simmer for 20 minutes or so until everything is cooked. Turn off the heat and blitz with a hand blender until smoothish. Add extra stock if necessary if too thick. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy. You and your stomach will feel the joy!