Corn Soup with lovage

This is my entry to Hive Top Chef Soup Theme

The lady next door has a plant the size of a bush in her garden. A few weeks ago she let me taste it. She told me it was called Lovage. In German it's called Liebstöckel. She told me it was popular in soups and I guess in Europe it's more well known perennial. I was so blown away by this herb. How could I go my whole life without ever coming across it. It's growing in her yard like a crazy bush.

If I walked by this, before I knew I would have never known that it is one of the most aromatic pungent and almost lemony herb ever. It even has a hint of saltiness like celery. She is growing it so easily that I don't understand why more people don't have it in their garden or on their lawn. In fact if I had a yard of my own and I could get my hands on this plant, I would have it all over.

I was hoping she would give me some with a root to plant but she didn't. I was hoping that she would at least give me a great big handful but since the first few sprigs, she didn't give me anymore. The bush looks the same size as it did that time and it's right by our fence almost poking through.

As I bent down beside it, I couldn't help myself from reaching through and plucking a bunch. Was that wrong?

I had a bunch of frozen corn in the freezer, so I thought I would make a corn soup.

At first I thought I'd make a creamy chowder then I changed my mind and made it chunky and a little creamy.

First I cooked half the corn, potatoes, carrots,and lovage with some vegetable broth powder, for about half an hour turning to low after it boiled.

The lovage was the perfect celery replacement since it has a bit of a similar celery taste but I believe it is a type of parsley which is also perfect for soup.

I got half the corn and blended it uncooked. This would be added to make the base creamy while the other ingredients stay chunky.

I decided to finish the soup outside since my mother in-law started puttering in the kitchen. She would not have stood the cooking of onions and garlic right around her, even with the fan on. So out I went and I prefer that these days anyway because it's nice outside now.

When the onions, garlic and peppers were cooked down, I threw them in the soup and continued cooking the soup for ten minutes to thouroughly heat.

I brought the soup back inside and took around two cups of it and blended it with the creamed corn.

I returned the creamy mixture back to the pot and mixed it up.

Corn soup with lovage

4 cups frozen corn
3 medium potatoes
6 cups water
3 tablespoons veggie soup powder
1/2 red pepper diced
1/2 green pepper diced
1 onion diced
3 cloves garlic diced
1 cup lovage chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon thyme
pepper
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon paprika

The lovage flavor in the soup made me feel like I was in the European countryside. I have never been in the European countryside but I watch movies so I can imagine.

Thanks for stopping by!