Comforting Corn Chowder

Check out the new poll feature and vote on your favorite comfort food!  The current poll question is inspired by this corn chowder recipe which is such a great comforter on cold winter days like this one.  The chowder is thickened by pureeing some of its potatoes and corn so it doesn't contain any heavy cream or butter and is completely non-dairy.  If you can find organic potatoes then you can leave the skins on for extra fiber and nutrients.  PJ doesn't usually have a great food memory and often forgets a dish we've eaten by the next day, but he actually asked for me to make this one again!  So it must be pretty good. 
If you are using fresh corn on the cob, cut off the kernels and include the cobs in the soup for extra flavor.  I make this in the pressure cooker (amazon.com link to the one I use here) to save time and haven't tried making it just by simmering yet, but I would think it would probably require about half an hour over low heat.  I recommend serving this soup with Whole Wheat Nutty Quick Bread as pictured. Freezes well.  Enjoy!

Comforting Corn Chowder
 Adapted from Lorna J. Sass, Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive oil or canola oil
1 medium red onion, diced in 1/2" pieces
4 C vegetable stock
1 1/2 lb. thin skinned potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" dice
1 large red bell pepper, diced
4 C frozen corn kernels (defrosted) or fresh
4 large celery ribs, diced
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/3 C minced dill (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in the pressure cooker.  Add the onions and saute for 2 minutes.  Add the stock, potatoes, red pepper, 1 C of corn, celery, and thyme.
Lock the lid in place and bring to high pressure.  Lower heat just enough to maintain high pressure for 4 minutes.  Reduce the pressure using a quick release method.
Transfer about 2 cups of the vegetables (try to include lots of potatoes to make it extra thick) to a blender and puree together with the 2 cups of the remaining corn.  Stir the puree back into the soup with the remaining 1 cup of corn.  Add dill, salt, and pepper.  Taste and adjust seasonings - this soup will benefit from a decent amount of salt, so keep adding a little and tasting until the flavors pop.

And here it is, to prove how nicely it freezes, defrosted and reheated a week later: