Aug 29, 2005 By Jennifer Harr 4 min read

Like a lightening strike, sometimes, inspiration just hits. I bought crab legs at the store last week so that I could pig out while I watched the Steelers game, but found myself full before I finished – an unusual thing for me. So I cracked and cleaned what was left and put it in the fridge.

I was going to turn that meat into crab cakes until I realized that I needed mayonnaise, which I dislike and never keep on hand. So I was stuck, trying to figure out what to do with it until I got the craving for some soup.

Rifling through my cupboards for ingredients, and hoping I had canned broth on hand, I came up with the idea to make a creamed corn and crab soup. I wasn’t sure how it would work, but I knew I had a built-in tastetester in my mother, who happens to be unfailingly honest about whether something’s good or bad.

So I pulled, what I thought, would taste good together from my fridge and went to work with 4-year-old Gabe at my side. He pulled a chair to the counter and declared, with the enthusiasm only a child could muster, that he would make the soup if I only told him how.

While he flaked the crab and stirred in the chili paste, corn and cornstarch slurry, I chopped the scallions and got them into the soup pot. Then we went to work on the homemade croutons that accompany the soup, a project he enjoyed even more because it required lots of herb and cheese sprinkling on his part.

Insistent that he wanted to hand mix the croutons himself before spreading them out to bake, Gabe dug in. A few seconds later, his hands were out and he was running to the sink to wash his hands. Apparently, the child who enjoys baths and regularly uses a fingernail brush to ensure clean nails didn’t much care for the mess of oil and herbs on his hands.

Really, though, there’s not much easier than making your own croutons, and in my opinion, there are several bonuses. Do it yourself and you can control the amount of salt to keep down sodium, you have them fresh and delicious, and you know they’re baked so the fat content is kept pretty low.

A couple of these croutons floated on top of the corn and crab soup make is absolutely delicious.

Gabe even tried some of the soup. My pint-sized taste tester thought it a little spicy for his taste buds. Mom loved it, although she recommended I use less chili paste. I’ve reduced the amount from the 1 teaspoon I used to ½ teaspoon in the recipe. If you don’t like spicy things, it can be omitted completely, although the slight heat goes well with both the corn and crab.

Corn and Crab Soup

1, 14 ½ ounce can chicken broth

1, 15-ounce can creamed corn

2 scallions

1 uncooked cob of corn

½ cup crabmeat

1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch

3 teaspoons cold water

½ teaspoon chili paste

Finely dice the onion part of the scallion. Cook over low heat in a medium-sized pot, stirring occasionally for about five minutes. Finely chop the green stem of scallion and reserve for garnish.

While the onion is slowly cooking, break apart the crabmeat, ensuring it is clean of any shells and cut the corn off the cob. After the corn is cut off, use the back of a large kitchen knife to gently run down the cob to get the pulp out. Add that to the crab, and add the chili paste (dried chili flakes will work here as well). Mix those ingredients together and in a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and water until dissolved. Add that to the crab-corn mixture, stir again, and set aside.

Pour the chicken broth into the pot and crank the heat up to high. When boiling, pour the broth in the creamed corn and bring to a boil again. Turn the heat down to medium, and pour in the corn-crab mixture. The cornstarch will slightly thicken the broth. Heat through. Just before serving, add the chopped greens of the scallions.

This is great served with homemade croutons.

Homemade Croutons

½ loaf day-old French bread

Few drizzles of olive oil

1-2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

1-2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Cut the bread into chunks depending on how big you want the croutons. They’re not supposed to be perfect, so don’t stress over the varying sizes. Drizzle about one tablespoon olive oil atop the bread and toss with Italian seasoning and cheese. Bake until golden in a 425-degree oven. They’ll keep about one week in an airtight container.

(Jennifer Harr is the court reporter for the Herald-Standard. She welcomes comments, recipes at Jennifer Harr, Herald-Standard, 8-18 E. Church St., Uniontown, Pa. 15401, or e-mail to jharr@heraldstandard.com.)