I dreamed of Creamy Corn Coconut Soup

DH asked me how I think of the recipes I come up with. Buddha knows my coworkers eating what I call brown food - plate lunches of meat, rice and macaroni salad covered with gravy - look askance at my leftovers of spicy sweet potato soup!

I told him I sometimes dream about the food I'm going to prepare for dinner. The truth is that the vegetables that need to be used are even in my subconscious thoughts! I've been cooking for so long, that sometimes I just know when odd combinations of things will taste good together.

While we eat corn on the cob - and it is already sweet and crispy when you find it in the farmers' markets NOW - it figures in the soups we eat. Corn chowder comes to mind, but sometimes you don't want potatoes and the rest of the fuss. I often make a soup with lots of corn kernels cut off the cob, with onion, celery, zucchini and red bell pepper in a chicken broth.

I found a Martha Stewart recipe for a chilled soup with corn and coconut milk, but I always find soup tastes better when you start with onion sauteed in butter as it is here in my version:

• 2 Tbsp. sweet onion, diced
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 cups fresh corn kernels, cut from the cob
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 can coconut milk (about 6 oz.)
• Lime or lemon to taste
• Cilantro for garnish

Saute the onion in butter until soft, add the corn and cook for a couple of minutes. Stir in the broth and heat until bubbling, stir in the coconut milk and heat through, adding salt to taste. Stir in lime or lemon juice to taste. Garnish liberally with cilantro. Serve with lime or lemon wedges. You can add heat with a dusting of cayenne or some chopped jalapeno sauteed with the onion, but I left it out, as I served this soup with curried ratatouille, to which I'd added some cayenne.