V is for Vegetables

This is a part of our month-long Eating the Alphabet Project! Click here to learn more about the book and project, and to see a list of all the recipes and activities.

 Celebrate all the fresh produce of summer with this creamy soup. It's even better chilled the next day!

Summer Vegetable Soup

adapted from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger.

Ingredients

• 4 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 6 ears of corn)
• 2 cups nonfat milk
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 1 medium red bell pepper
• 1 zucchini
• 2 plum tomatoes
• 2 cups vegetable broth (preferably low-sodium)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves (optional)

1. Prepare the vegetables: Dice the onion and zucchini, and seed and dice the red pepper and tomatoes. 
2. Put 2 cups of the corn in a blender with the milk and process until smooth. 
3. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onion, bell pepper, and zucchini until tender, about 5 minutes. 
4. Add the remaining 2 cups corn and the broth and bring to a boil. 
5. Add pureed corn and diced tomatoes and cook until warmed through. Add salt and season with pepper.  
6. Serve topped with chopped basil, if using.
   
   

 

Abstract Corn 

Don’t throw out the cobs once you have cut off the corn – turn them into art materials! Encourage young readers to create Jackson Pollock inspired masterpieces by rolling, rubbing, dipping, and dotting paint using corn cobs as the tools.

 

Supplies

• Corncobs
• Paint
• Paper plates
• Paintbrushes
• Paper

1. Squirt paint onto a paper plate. Use a separate paper plate for each color of paint.
   
   
2. Let the creative spirit loose! Try:
   Rolling a corncob in the paint and then roll it on the paper
   Using a paintbrush, apply paint to the corncob then roll it on the paper
   After paint is on the paper roll a corncob through the paint.
   Dip the end of a corncob in the paint then “paint” with it.
   What else will your young reader think to do?