Meatless Monday

Corn & Poblano Chowder

I have a great recipe for you today! Like the Hot & Sour soup I posted previously, this one is also a vegetarian dish from Pampered Chef. It was a winner with the whole family and can quickly become a warm comfort food on a cold night. Here is the recipe:

4 ears corn, husks and silk removed

2 cups whole milk

2 cups vegetable broth

1 medium onion

2 poblano peppers

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1 medium carrot, peeled

1. Remove corn kernels from cobs, set aside. Break cobs in half. Place cobs, milk and broth in microwave bowl and cook on high 8 minutes. Carefully remove bowl from microwave. Carefully remove and discard cobs from milk mixture using tongs.

2. Meanwhile, chop onion and poblanos with knife. Add buter to large pot and melt over medium heat. Add onions, poblanos, corn kernels and flour; cook and stir 7-9 minutes or until onion is tender. Add milk mixture, salt and black pepper; bring to a boil. Cut carrots into julienne strips using peeler. Ladle chowder into large bowls; top with carrot strips.

In the "cook's tips" they explain how important it is to take the extra time to prepare fresh corn for this recipe. The corn cobs release starch into the milk mixture creating a much thicker chowder.

This was also my first time working with poblano peppers. They have a kick of more flavor than a green bell pepper, but you can easily substitute a green pepper if you prefer. I however, am hooked on the poblano pepper now!

Please let me know if you try this recipe and if you liked it!

What's Cooking? {hot & sour soup}

Hi everybody! Welcome to a new little segment I'd like to call What's Cooking? Actually, it's not that new. If you've followed my blog for some time you know that I love to post food pics, especially baked goods. If anything ever pulls us away from our creative time it would be the growls of our bellies wanting nourishment after hours of cropping! From time to time you will see posts of recipes. Perhaps dinner items, snacks, sweets, whatever ends up on my table and into my family's bellies. I enjoy trying new things and this first recipe is a vegetarian meal. I found it in a recent Pampered Chef book. It is oh so yummy and was a winner with everyone. Hot & Sour Soup~

Recipe for soup: (edited)

6 cups vegetable broth (divided)

4 dried shiitake mushrooms

3 green onions with tops

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

1-2 tsp Thai red curry paste

2 medium carrots

3 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 cup water

1 pkg. firm tofu

3 eggs

1. Pour 1/2 cup of broth in microwave bowl and heat on high 30-60 seconds or until boiling. Remove from microwave. Add mushrooms; let stand 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms from broth and thinly slice; set aside in broth.

2. As mushrooms soak, slice green onions; set green tops aside for garnish. Heat a large pot or casserole over medium high heat 1-3 minutes or until hot. Add remaining onions; cook and stir 1 minute or until tender. Add remaining broth, vinegar, soy sauce, curry paste and mushroom mixture. Cover and bring to a boil.

3. Peel carrots and julienne into short strips. Add carrots to soup; reduce to a simmer and cook 5 minutes.

4. Whisk together cornstarch and water in same bowl. Whisk into soup; simmer 5 minutes. Meanwhile, drain tofu and cut into 1/2 in. cubes; add to soup.

5. Remove pot/casserole from heat. Lightly beat eggs in small bowl; drizzle into soup. Cover and let stand 5 minutes or until eggs are cooked. Garnish with reserved onion tops and serve.

I also served my soup with some baked veggie rolls and brewed some organic tea to sip with our Asian inspired meal.

Hope you will give it a try and let me know what you think. Check back soon for more ideas that I will be cooking or baking in my kitchen. ; )