Summer can be prime for that Instant Pot, so don't store it away

Like most of us, I have several items that get put away in the summer - coats, sweaters, winter wreaths, ice scrapers and, for some reason, my Instant Pot.

I'm not sure why that is. I guess I put it away because I mainly use it for hearty soups, stews and cuts of meat. I don't generally cook when the weather gets warmer.

Out with the pressure cooker. In with the grill.

Yet, when you think about it, the Instant Pot (or any pressure cooker) is tailor-made for months when you don't want to fuss around the hot stove. It's self-contained, doesn't heat up the kitchen, and is so easy to clean.

In other words, it's perfect for easy, breezy summer cooking.

I busted it back out recently for summery corn chowder with crab, and it's not going back into storage any time soon.

The dish took 20 minutes from start to finish. Since it's not quite fresh corn season, I used frozen, which was perfectly fine. If you're trying to keep costs down, ditch the crab. It's a nice addition but not mandatory.

And don't worry if you don't have an Instant Pot. This is easy to make over the stove. Just follow the directions, but add the corn toward the end of the cooking time. You want the potatoes cooked through, but the corn with a little bit of a snap - add the milk, crab and parsley at the very end.

Since I already had the bacon cooking, I served the chowder with BLTs - which turned out to be a perfect light summer meal.

• M. Eileen Brown is the Daily Herald's vice president of sales and marketing and an incurable soup-a-holic. She specializes in vegetarian soups and blogs at soupalooza.com/.

Summer Corn and Crab Chowder

2 bacon slices, chopped

1 cup chopped leek

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

4 cups thawed frozen corn or fresh corn kernels (4 ears)

1 small russet potato, unpeeled and cut into ½-inch cubes

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups water

1 pound fresh lump crabmeat, drained and picked over (optional)

2 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Select the SAUTE setting on the Instant Pot and select the HIGH temperature setting and allow to preheat. Add bacon to cooker; cook, stirring often, until crisp. Transfer bacon to a plate. Add leek and bell pepper to drippings in cooker. Cook, stirring often, until slightly softened. Add corn, potato, butter, salt and cayenne; stir until butter melts. Add flour; stir to combine. Add water, and stir to combine.

Press Cancel. Cover cooker with lid, and lock in place. Turn steam release handle to SEALING position. Select MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK setting. Select HIGH pressure for 7 minutes.

Carefully turn steam release handle to VENTING position and let steam fully escape. Remove the lid from cooker; turn cooker off. Add crab, milk and parsley to cooker; stir to combine. Allow mixture to stand until crab is warmed, about 5 minutes. Ladle evenly into bowls; sprinkle evenly with bacon.

Serves 6

Adapted from Cooking Light magazine