Recipe Monday-Roasted Sweet Potato and Corn Chowder

Roasted Sweet Potato and Corn Chowder
(From The New Vegan Cookbook, a local library find)

2 Medium sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and diced into ½ inch pieces
2 tablespoons corn oil
Salt & freshly ground pepper
1 pound frozen (rinsed and defrosted) or fresh corn kernels (about 4 cups)
1 cup water
1 ½ cups finely diced celery
1 cup diced red onion
¼ cup diced shallots
1 tablespoon tomato paste
½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
3 cups vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1 russet (baking) potato (about 8oz)
2 tablespoons minced parsley
½ to 1 cup unflavored soymilk (optional)

Ok, here are my substitutions: I used olive oil instead of corn oil, I used a Vidalia onion instead of red, garlic instead of shallots and two small Yukon golds instead of a russet potato.

1. Set the oven rack in the center and preheat the oven to 425. Oil a large roasting pan.

2. Scatter the sweet potatoes in one layer in the roasting pan and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Season well with salt and pepper. Roast until tender, tossing once or twice, 15 to 20 minutes. If you’d like to brown the sweet potatoes more deeply, set them about 5 inches below the broiling element for a minute or two. Set aside.

3. Reserve 1 cup of corn kernels. In a blender, puree the remaining corn with the water until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

4. In a heavy soup pot, heat the remaining oil. Cook the celery, onion, and shallots over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until the onions are slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and thyme and cook another minute, stirring frequently. Add the broth, pureed corn, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste.

5. While bringing the chowder to a boil, peel the russet potato, cut it into ½ inch dices, and add it to the pot. Cover the pot and simmer until the potato is tender, about 25 to 35 minutes.

6. Remove the bay leaf. Add the reserved corn kernels, roasted sweet potatoes, and parsley. Thin with soymilk, if necessary. Adjust the seasonings. Cook (but do not boil after adding soymilk) until heated throughout.

Vegan Lent

Hello! It's been a really long time since I've updated this thing. Wanted to share my plan for a Vegan Lent. I told myself that when I got back from my birthday weekend in Florida, I would do a vegan detox (which I do every once in awhile to clear my system and hit the reset button, so to speak). Then I realized that it was Lent, so I decided to "go big or go home."

Mainly, I wanted to give up meat, because as tasty as it is, eating it conflicts with my values. I wouldn't mind eating meat that locally and sustainably raised (in good conditions) and humanely slaughtered, but for this exercise, I wanted to give it up completely. Giving up meat has never been a problem for me, so that's more or less the easy part here.

Now, cheese. Cheese is amazing. I love it. But dairy is one of the hardest things for your body to digest, and it's terrible for you. The human digestive system is not designed to process the lactose of other mammals. It's as simple as that. So, I decided to give it up FOR THE MOST PART.

I will not throw away any food that's currently in my house, because being wasteful also conflicts with my values. I will not purchase any meat or dairy products, but if I'm out with friends and cannot settle on a vegan menu item, I give myself permission to eat dairy.

I haven't decided about eggs yet. And I'm not getting all picky with gelatin and honey and all the other fru-fru details. And chocolate is OK once in awhile, but I won't buy it for my house.

So that's it! I'll keep you posted. Today is day three. Going well so far :)

-Mandy

Lola enjoys asparagus...

...and yellow squash. The reason I know this is because she was begging (barking and grumbling) at my feet whilst I was cookin' up some yummy veggies for dinner, so I fed her a piece of squash, which she chewed on, spit out, picked back up and devoured. Amazed by her enjoyment, I proceeded to giver her an asparagus tip, which she chewed on, spit out, picked back up and devoured. I was so tickled by her love for veggies that I just kept feeding them to her. All together, she had two pieces of squash and four pieces of asparagus. I think she deserves it...she got her rabies shot this afternoon and has been sleeping all evening. The squash was from my garden and it was deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelicious. I have two more little squashems growing. I check them every day and tell them to hurry up and get big. I have been very lucky (knock on wood) that Lola's curiosity for the garden did not show up this season. Last year she ate my jalapeno plant and a couple other things, but so far she's left everything alone this year. She is fierce and defiant when she wants to be. Just look at that snaggletooth!!!