There are two things that I really believe in: six degrees of separation and self-fulfilling prophecies. Six degrees of separation is pretty simple. My college best friend Sarah’s now-boyfriend Mike went to college with my high school best friend Jen. All three of them live in different states. We only know it because Jen saw that Mike was a mutual Facebook friend and put two and two together.

There’s one example and that’s even fewer than six degrees. With social networking, I think it’s amazing how small this world is and how many common friends and acquaintances most of us actually have.

As far as the self-fulfilling prophecy, well, that’s a little bit more complicated. I have a bad habit of looking at the metaphorical “glass half-empty” instead of the “glass half-full.” When things are going well for me, such as when I’ve moved to a new city that I love with a great job, some fabulous new friends and an apartment that has a lot of potential as soon as I can afford to decorate it, I’ll focus on the one thing that isn’t going swimmingly in my life and fixate.

And if by chance, I wake up one day and feel like everything is going great? When the dishes are all put away, my blog is up to date, my clients are happy and I’m feeling well-rested, I look for something wrong. I practically wait for something to go wrong with the same fervency that I wait for the 135 bus in the morning when the temperature is below freezing and I’ve forgotten gloves.

When everything is going well, I feel unsettled. I am constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. An usually, when you expect something to happen hard enough, it happens. How do you stay on top of those feelings? How do you stay positive and tell yourself to enjoy the present and expect the best from the future?

Even though optimism might not be my greatest strength, I’m a realist and know that everyone has off days. Days where you come home and need a bowl of something comforting. In the spirit of January New Years resolution, comfort in a bowl doesn’t have to be from Ben or Jerry. It can be a healthy, veggie-packed chowder that you can eat as a light lunch or with half a sandwich for a heartier dinner.

Chile Corn Chowder

Ingredients:

7 ounces sweet, yello corn (fresh or frozen)

2 small red potatoes, peeled

3 cups low-sodium chicken stock

1 Vidalia onion, chopped

1 medium fresh red chile, sliced in half, divided

1 tablespoon of butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

1 ounce Cheddar cheese, plus more for serving

1/3 cup sour cream

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (for garnish)

Directions:

1. Fill a medium-sized stock pot with vegetable broth and bring to a gentle simmer over a medium heat. Add thyme to the broth and simmer until fragrant. Add the potato to the broth, once simmering.

2. In a separate pan or skillet, heat butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped vegetables and half the chile to the pan/skillet and stir to coat with fats. Cover with a lid and cook gently for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften.

3. Add the corn to the large pan of vegetables and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully pour the mixture into the broth and potato pot and bring everything to a boil.

4.Simmer for 5 minutes. While simmering, trim and finely slice your scallions and finely slice your remaining chile half. Grate the cheddar. Take off the heat.

5. Pulse the chowder a few times with the hand blender so its still quite rustic and chunky.

6. Taste and season with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Spoon a dollop of sour cream over each bowl then sprinkle over your grated Cheddar and sliced chile as desired.

Tagged as: chile corn chowder, chili, chowder, corn