Vegan MoFo Day 2: Curried Corn Chowder

One of the best things about Fall is being able to eat soup again. Soups are versatile, and I've been trying to create more of my own recipes for them. Curry and corn go surprisingly well together because of how sweet the corn is. I used soy milk to make my soup creamy, but I recommend using coconut milk if you've got it. 

Curried Corn Soup

1 tbs oil

2 stalks celery, diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp cumin

2 small potatoes, scrubbed and cubed

3 cups frozen corn kernels

3 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup soy milk or coconut milk, or more depending on how creamy you want it

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute the celery in oil for about 2 minutes. Add the carrot and garlic and saute for another 3 minutes. Add spices and coat the celery, carrot and garlic with them. Add potatoes, carrots and brother and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until you can pierce the potatoes with a fork. When the potatoes are done, remove pot from heat. Add soy milk and blend with an immersion blender. You don't to blend too much, just enough to make it slightly creamy. Stir and return pot to heat for about 2 minutes. 

Vegan Mofo: Quick Corn Stew

Sorry about my recent hiatus. The semester is coming to a close and my work has been piling up. My fall break has finally arrived and I find myself in a constant perpetual daydream about the rapidly approaching festivities. Tofurky Day is upon us!

Last year, I was fortunate enough to enjoy two meals. My first consisted of the following:

-Vcon Chickpea Seitan Cutlets with red wine gravy
-Cheezy Broccoli Casserole with a Golden Cracker crust
-Carob Cream Pie with a graham cracker crust
-standard mashed potatoes and salad

The second meal was especially wonderful mostly because I didn't have to cook a damned thing! My mother is my cooking idol. She knows how to cook just about every vegetable perfectly and is really awesome and considerate when it comes to accommodating me at family dinners. This meal consisted of:

-Herbed Tofu loaf with stuffing
-Mashed potatoes and gravy
-roasted assorted veggies
-Apple cake

All courtesy of my mother, mind you.

This year, I have every intention of going all out. I plan on doing every classic Thanksgiving meal. This year's menu will consist of:

-Sausage Stuffing from Rhymes with Vegan
-Green Bean Casserole from RWV
-Scalloped Corn from RWV
-Tofu Turkey from RWV
-and, Pumpkin Cheesecake with Oatmeal cookie crust from Fatfree Vegan

I think one of the reasons I'm so excited for Thanksgiving this year is because I recently began adhering to the dietary standards of the Eat to Live diet. It's the first diet I've actually been able to stick with. I don't have terrible cravings for any contraband pasta or sweets. I also don't feel hungry in between meals. While I am a little upset that I can't eat as much avocado as I'd like, I enjoy the simplicity of all the meals. Did I mention this is a really cheap diet?

As a break from eating raw foods during this most unforgiving of Novembers (with the exception of today!) I decided to whip up some of the quick corn stew in the book. I had to make it from memory seeing as I didn't have the book on me. I cheated and added a tablespoon of Bragg's liquid aminos, but soy milk chowder soups tend to be too sweet by themselves for my liking. Sorry, Furhman.


Eat to Live Quick Corn Stew

2 cups soy milk
1 tbs whole wheat flour
1 medium potato, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 large onion, diced
1/2 tsp dulse
2 tbs dried vegetable flakes
1/4 Mrs. Dash Seasoning
1 tsp Butter Buds
1 10oz bag frozen corn

Heat 2 cups of water and soy milk together on a low flame. Mix in flour, dulse, vegetable flakes, and seasoning. Add the diced potato, carrot, and onion and continue to simmer for 5 minutes. Add frozen corn until it defrosts and the sou comes to a boil again.

My two cents: I didn't add the two cups of water. I thought it would be too watery for a stew and take away a lot of flavor. I generally find soups with a soy milk base to be, but this was rich an hearty. Instead of dulse I used kelp. It's just what I had on hand. And, it had a great chowder taste. I didn't use the seasonings suggested. I'm still not entirely sure what they are, to be honest.