Bacon, Tomato, and Corn Chowder

This is a variation on my traditional corn chowder recipe. On the Artistic Eatables Facebook page, we were having a discussion about our favorite hearty meals. My boss from where I used to work reminded me of this wonderful alternative to corn chowder.

Of course, don't let the bacon deter you if you are a vegetarian. It can be made sans meat by omitting the bacon. It still has a wonderful, different kind of flavor due to the addition of tomatoes! I encourage you to give it a try.

Ingredients

• 1 lb bacon, cut into small pieces
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 8 small potatoes (I used new red potatoes), chopped into small pieces
• 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes (juice will be used)
• 4 vegetable bouillon cubes
• water
• 1 lb frozen corn
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
• milk
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Heat large stockpot to medium heat.
2. Cook bacon until somewhat crispy. Put cooked bacon into a bowl; set aside.
3. Pour out most of bacon grease. Place stockpot back over heat.
4. Add olive oil and butter.
5. Cook onion until translucent.
6. Add potatoes, bouillon cubes, and tomatoes and their juice. Cut tomatoes into small chunks using a pair of kitchen scissors.
7. Add enough water to cover vegetables. Cook until potatoes are done.
8. Add corn. Cook until corn is heated.
9. Turn heat to low. Add in cheese, a little at a time, stirring so it melts without clumping.
10. Remove from heat. Add as much milk as you like, until it has thinned the soup to your desired consistency.
11. Season with salt and pepper.
12. Serve, topping each bowl with cooked bacon. Enjoy!

Chickpea, Potato, and Kale Soup

My friend Jonah, of the Jonah's Fish Chowder recipe fame,  came to visit a few weeks ago with a lovely surprise for me from his local farmers' market. It included oyster mushrooms, wedges of different cheeses, and a large bunch of chard. Since then, I've been daydreaming about leafy greens. (I know, that probably puts me in the category of food dork, but I'm okay with that.)

This is a variation on a soup that I used to make a long time ago. I love the combination of chickpeas and potatoes, and also how flexible the recipe is. Feel free to throw in other aromatics like carrots or celery with your onions; replace the kale with swiss chard; or even add some ground sausage to the mix.

Ingredients
(for gluten-free recipe, omit bouillon or use a gluten-free bouillon)
(for dairy-free or vegan recipe, omit parmesan cheese when serving)

• olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1/4 tsp dried whole thyme
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 4-6 red potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 8 cups water, divided use
• 3 tsp vegetable bouillon (or 3 bouillon cubes)
• two 15 oz cans of beans, drained and rinsed (I used one can of chickpeas and one of pink beans)
• 3/4 bunch fresh kale, rinsed well and chopped
•  parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in large stockpot over medium heat. Add onions, thyme, smoked paprika, and bay leaves. Add salt and pepper. Cook until translucent.
2. Add potatoes and 4 cups of the water. Cover and let sit until water comes to a boil. 
3. Reduce heat to low and stir in bouillon. Add the other 4 cups of water, and place kale on top of other ingredients. Return cover to pot and let the kale start to steam. 
4. After about 5-7 minutes, add beans, stir well, and return cover to pot. Cook for another 10-15 minutes, then turn heat off. Let sit, uncovered, for a couple minutes, then check flavors. Add more salt and pepper as needed.
5. Serve with a side of parmesan cheese, for sprinkling, if desired.

Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary and Thyme

I've noticed that my cooking interests rotate with the seasons. During summertime when there are so many wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables available, I find my recipes highlighting simplicity. Just like with my last recipe on Fresh Tomato and Red Onion Salad, today's recipe doesn't involve a lot of complex dressings or spices. Instead, it relies on the starchiness of the potato combined with the slight tartness from the apple cider vinegar to create a flavor that, when joined with salad and burger, rounds out a meal perfectly.


Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 quart new red potatoes, washed and cut into chunks
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 4-5 cloves garlic, smashed and cut in half
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced lengthwise

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
•  In separate bowl, combine oil, vinegar, rosemary, thyme, and pepper.
• In 13 x 9 baking dish, combine potatoes, shallot, garlic, and onion.
• Pour oil mixture over potato mixture. Stir well.
• Bake at 450 degrees, uncovered, for about 45 minutes. Stir at least once while baking.

Mashed Potato Soup

This entry could also be called, "How to Use Leftover Mashed Potatoes". If you're like me, you will often make too much of a dish for holiday meals. Such is the case with my mashed potatoes, whose leftovers filled a large tupperware container. This recipe is an adaptation of my Creamy Potato Soup.

There are no real measurements for this recipe because it can be altered for your needs. The butter and milk that many people add to mashed potatoes just makes this more flavorful from the get-go. You can also treat the potato soup as a starting point and add other leftovers for a heartier soup. Imagine throwing in your leftover cooked corn or chunks of ham after the liquid has heated up.


Ingredients

• olive oil
• small wedge white onion, diced
• leftover mashed potatoes (I had about 5-6 cups)
• water (I used about 4-6 cups)
• spoonful vegetable/chicken base (or 1 bouillon cube)
• pinch dried thyme leaves

Directions

1. Heat stockpot over medium heat. Add drizzle of olive oil.
2. Cook onion until translucent.
3. Add mashed potatoes, water, vegetable base, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.
4. Whisk soup to break up any remaining mashed potato chunks.

Jonah's Fish Chowder

Our friend Jonah made us this amazing chowder when he visited recently. He commented that many people expect chowder to be thick and creamy, like traditional New England clam chowder; however most chowders are hearty soups with milk or cream in their base but not excessively creamy. He did mention that this soup could be thickened by making a roux but I enjoyed it as it's listed below.

Another comment about ingredients: the haddock purchased at the fish counter was frozen when we brought it home. It was still fairly frozen when added to the soup, which allowed many of the pieces to stay whole while they cooked. If using really fresh fish, the pieces will break down quicker in the soup.



Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp butter (divided use)
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, sliced in discs
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 4 medium potatoes, chopped
• 1 lb haddock, cut into chunks (fresh or frozen)
• 1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc) or water
• 1 tsp sea salt
• freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 3 tsp fresh thyme, roughly chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups milk

Directions

1. Melt 2 Tbsp of the butter in a large stockpot over medium heat.
2. Add onion, carrots, and celery and cook until onions are soft.
3. Add potatoes, fish, wine, salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf. Cover and cook until fish is flaky and cooked.
4. Add milk and remaining butter. Reduce heat to low and cook until heated throughout.
5. Serve immediately.

Beef and Barley Soup

I've been craving a beef based soup lately, and several sources have reminded me of the great combination of beef and barley. I decided to give it a whirl, following Budget Bytes' recipe most closely.

The best parts about this soup: by cooking the stew meat first, everything was flavored with its drippings; because the barley's starch began to break down and thicken the soup, no thickening agent was needed to make this almost stew-like; and finally, adding the potatoes in at the end prevented them from getting too mushy. It is an all around hearty winter soup.

Ingredients (makes 5-6 servings)

• olive oil
• 1 lb stew meat, cut into small pieces
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, diced
• 4 small stalks OR 2 large stalks celery, sliced
• small bunch carrots, sliced
• pinch dried thyme leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 small package (about 10 oz) white mushrooms, sliced
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 6 cups beef stock (I used Better Than Bouillon's beef base in 6 cups water)
• 1 cup dried barley
• 1 lb small red potatoes, chopped into bite size pieces

Directions

1. Heat a small amount of olive oil in large stockpot over medium heat. Add stew meat and cook until browned. Transfer to separate bowl and set aside, leaving drippings in stockpot.
2. Drizzle more olive oil into stockpot. Add onions and garlic and cook until onions have softened.
3. Add celery, carrots, thyme, and bay leaves. Cook for 4-5 minutes, adding a splash of water if vegetables start to stick or burn.
4. Add mushrooms. Continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes.
5. Clear a little spot and add tomato paste. Cook until paste heats up, then gradually stir it into juices and vegetables.
6. Add cooked meat back into stockpot, along with beef stock and barley. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover; simmer for 40 minutes.
7. Add potatoes and simmer, covered, for another 10-15 minutes.

Creamy Potato Soup

This soup is SO. EASY. Thanks to a basket of vegetables from my friend Gretchen, I was blessed with gorgeous homegrown potatoes and onions. They've been staring me down the entire week, basically begging to be simmered and pureed. Now, I know that root vegetables talking to me makes me weird, but at least the weirdness comes with clear cut inspiration.

The beauty of this soup, like my Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Soup, is that the creaminess comes from pureeing some of the starchy vegetables, so if you're not into dairy you can omit it completely. I did add a splash of heavy cream at the end, but it was a smooth soup without it. As a small bowl, this would be a great appetizer course, or could also be served as a great vegetarian / vegan main course with a hunk of warm bread.

If you have less time available to cook this, just be sure to cut your potatoes into smaller pieces; the increased surface area will help them cook more quickly.

Ingredients (serves 3-4 main dish or 5-6 appetizer)

for a vegan or dairy-free meal, replace butter with olive oil and omit heavy cream

for gluten-free meal, be sure to use gluten-free vegetable stock

• 1-2 Tbsp butter
  
• 1 small onion, chopped into small pieces
• 4 small-medium starchy potatoes, such as Russets, washed and chopped
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
• water
• 3 Tbsp or 3 cubes vegetable bouillon
• splash of heavy cream, garnish (could also use a sprig of parsley or oregano in its place)

Directions

1. Heat a stockpot over medium heat. Melt butter.
2. Add onions and cook 5 minutes or so, until they become translucent.
3. Add potatoes and thyme. 
4. Pour in enough water to cover the potatoes. Stir in vegetable bouillon. 
5. Turn heat to medium-high. Cook until liquid boils well, then turn heat down to medium-low and cook until potatoes are very soft. 
6. Remove from heat. Puree using an immersion blender to your desired consistency, or transfer and puree in blender in small batches. Mine still had some small chunks of potato in it.)
7. Dish into bowls. Garnish with a splash or swirl of heavy cream, or a sprig of fresh parsley or oregano if desired.

Corn Chowder

I learned this recipe from the bosses at my previous job - every semester they make a huge pot of corn chowder for new volunteers who are training to answer phones at the crisis hotline. They are the masters of soup, at least in my book. Thanks, K and H!

The cheese is my favorite part, but depending on your preference, you may want not want a strong cheese flavor. For this size pot of soup, the minimum amount of cheese is about 8 oz. (which is a standard size block of cheese). In my workup, I used about one and a half blocks of cheddar, and it was pretty tasty. The biggest thing to attend to is keeping the heat low or off once dairy has been added. A nice soup can go to waste if you curdle the milk. It's no problem to reheat this later, as long as you don't allow the mixture to boil.


Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1/2 large onion, diced
  
• 3 large white potatoes, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
  
• water
  
• 2 bay leaves
• pinch of thyme
• 3 bouillon cubes (chicken or vegetarian) **
  
• 2 lbs. frozen corn
• 8 to 16 oz. cheddar cheese, cubed or shredded **
  
• milk
• salt
• pepper
  

Directions

1. Heat a stockpot to medium-low heat.
2. Melt butter in pan. Add garlic and saute until brown.
3. Add onion. Cook until onions are soft and translucent; about 10 minutes.
4. Add potatoes to the stockpot, then pour in enough water to cover the potatoes.
   
5. Add bay leaves, thyme, and bouillon cubes. Turn heat down to low and let simmer for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, or until potatoes are completely cooked and tender.
   
6. Add corn and simmer until heated throughout.
7. Turn heat off. Add cheese and stir well. Pour in enough milk to change the color of the liquid, stir well.
   
8. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

**For a gluten-free diet, make sure to use gluten-free bouillon cubes, as well as cheese that was made using gluten-free caking agents, such as Cabot cheese.

Comments
This recipe is really flexible because you can add anything you like. If you want to add ham or bacon, cook the meat before the onion goes in. The fat will add flavor that will carry throughout the dish. If you want other vegetables, add them in right before or after the potatoes (depending on soft they are, this will change how much time they need to cook). With regard to the spices, I have often had this recipe with cumin seed replacing the thyme - it is quite nice.