Grilled Corn and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

I found myself at the library last week with both my girls being entertained by our favorite librarian, Miss Venitha. After standing there for a moment not quite knowing what to do with myself, I wondered over to the cookbook shelf and found, Kitchen Coach: Weekend Cooking. I flipped through and there were no pictures (which is a cookbook requirement for me) but the name of this soup caught my eye. Then I read the author's description that "This is hands-down my very favorite soup." I was sold! The preparation takes awhile but it is delicious! It is like a richer, fancier version of potato soup with a burst of flavor from the red peppers - I'm definitely a fan!
(Oh, the recipe said it made 10 large servings, so I halved everything (except potatoes because I LOVE them). I'm posting the original (big) recipe from the book so plan accordingly)

Ingredients:
- 6 ears corn, husked, rinsed well to remove the silk, brushed with olive oil
- 6 c. chicken broth
- 8 bacon slices, diced
- 2 T. butter more or less (I didn't use any)
- 2 c. finely shopped white onions
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1/4 c. flour (or cornstarch)
- 3 c. peeled, diced russet potatoes
- 1/2 c. jarred roasted red bell peppers, chopped (at Walmart these were in the salad dressing aisle and were pretty cheap)
- 2 c. whole milk (I used whole since we buy it for Addie, but I think it would be fine with reduced fat milk)
- 1 t. lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 T. chopped fresh chives

Directions:
1. Preheat grill...clean and season grill.
2. Place the prepared ears of corn on grill. Grill until the corn is lightly browned, turning frequently. Remove corn from grill and cool. Once cooled, carefully cut kernels off the cob.
(I just browned my corn on a flat frying pan over the stove and broiled it in the oven a little)
3. Place the broth in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the cobs and heat over medium heat. Simmer the cobs in broth to infuse corn flavor (that is my favorite line from any recipe ever!), about 15 minutes. Discard cobs and reserve the stock.
4. Fry the bacon in a heavy stockpot over medium-low heat until just crisp, about 4-6 minutes. Remove the bacon and drain. Add enough butter to the rendered bacon fat to equal about 3 T. (I used no butter and actually removed some of my bacon grease - you only need so much!). Add the onions, season with salt, and cook, stirring from time to time, until pale golden in color, about 12 minutes.
5. Sprinkle with the flour and cook, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes.
6. Add the infused broth (:-)) to the stockpot, whisking continuously to incorporate. Increase the heat to medium-high, stir in the potatoes, and simmer about 10 minutes, covered, until tender.
7. Stir in the corn, roasted red pepper, and milk. Simmer until slightly thickened, for 10-12 minutes.
8. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Serve very hot, garnished with bacon and chives.