The Corn Chowder

Brief Introduction

This is literally everyone’s favorite soup. I found it in Fine Cooking, it was advertised at Poblano, something, bougie, whatever. The original was conceived as a soup eaten as a starter or side, so I quadrupled the amounts. I can’t reliably find poblanos or a decent ear of corn in this county, so I’ve adapted. It’s a soup that can be eaten year round to the satisfaction of all of us.

Servings: Makes enough for us + lunch the next day, with side bread.

Time: Solid hour and a half with all the chopping and the simmering.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 bell peppers, chopped
• Spice Pack
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons coriander seed
  • 2 Bay Leaves
  • 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper powder
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 8 cups reconstituted vegetable stock concentrate
• 6 cups whole milk
• 6 cups red potatoes, skins on, small dice
• 1 pound frozen sweet yellow corn kernels

Directions

1. In the large Dutch oven or stock pot (at least 8 quarts), melt butter over medium heat and add the onions, carrots, celery, and peppers and a couple heavy pinches of salt and allow to sweat for 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Add the spice pack; move it around for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
3. Add the flour and tomato paste, stirring constantly and vigorously for 30 seconds.
4. Add the stock and milk, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil.
5. Add the potatoes and the corn. Return to boil and then reduce to a simmer until the potatoes are cooked (~15 to 20 minutes).
6. Discard the bay leaf, check for saltiness needs, and eat it like you mean it.

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Tuscan Kale Potato Bean Soup

Brief Introduction

I found the first version of this recipe and was like: “What a great idea!” Then when I tried to make it I decided they had way too many ingredients and complications and so I got it down to its essence. Like there were 8 ingredients which basically matched Penzey’s Italian Herb Blend and then some pointless things like onion powder and nutritional yeast so those just went. No one misses them. I did add bacon based on a recommendation from a friend. Unlike the Split-Pea soup recipe, when I forgot the bacon one time, I heard about it.

Servings: Makes enough for us + lunch the next day, as long as there is some bread for dipping.

Time: About an hour, add 15 minutes for unruly children afoot.

Ingredients

• 6 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
• 2 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 carrot, chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 tablespoon minced garlic, I use the jar
• Spice Pack
  • 2 tablespoon Italian Herb Blend
  • 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
  • 2 Bay Leaves
  • 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
• 6 cups reconstituted vegetable stock concentrate
• 6 cups water
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 8 sun-dried tomato halves, finely chopped (in the bag, not oil or water packed)
• 1 tablespoon mellow white miso 
• 6 cups red potatoes, skins on, small dice
• 2, 15.5 oz. can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 6 cups Tuscan kale, stemmed and torn into ~1 inch pieces

Directions

1. In the large Dutch oven (or similarly large stockpot), cook the bacon over medium heat for 2 minutes.
2. Add the diced onion, carrots, and celery, sauté for another 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Add the minced garlic, and spice pack; sauté for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
4. Add the vegetable broth, water, lemon juice, sundried tomatoes, then increase the heat to a boil, stir well, then immediately lower to a low simmering boil.
5. Add the potatoes. Cover and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender (~15 to 20 minutes).
6. Add beans and (by handfuls) the kale, stir to incorporate, simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Discard the bay leaf, check for saltiness needs, and eat it like you mean it.

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Vegan Instant Pot Split-Pea Soup

Brief Introduction

I found some recipes somewhere on the Internet, and have significantly mangled them into the below. The original vegan one was pretty weak on flavor in the beginning, I added the smoked paprika, chipotle powder, and soy sauce to help offset the lack of bacon or ham hock. The vegan original also had some kind or fake meat thing in it, I never used it because it was processed garbage.

I also started sautéing the ingredients rather than just dumping in the whole mess. Using the Maillard reaction on the vegetables comes through again. You could do 4-6 slices of chopped up bacon instead of the olive oil, if you’re into that sort of thing. We don’t miss the bacon and decided that the calories aren’t worth it.

Servings: Enough for us to eat Dinner and Lunch the next day, see reheating instructions below.

Time: Like … 30 minutes to prep and chop. Then waiting on the Instant Pot for another ~40. So just over an hour.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (I’m not ashamed to say I use the jarred)
• Spice Pack:
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • heavy pinch to 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder (cook’s choice)
• 2 tbsp Soy Sauce or Liquid Aminos
• 2 cups/1 pound dried split peas, picked through
• 2 medium red potatoes, diced
• 8 cups reconstituted vegetable stock concentrate, rocket hot if possible (it helps getting the IP up to temp faster)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Put the Instant Pot on the medium heat saute setting, and add the olive oil to start warming it up.
2. Add onion, carrots, and celery to the pot, sprinkle some salt, and the veggies soften and start browning. Add the garlic and the spice pack and move that around for 30 seconds until fragant.
3. Add the Soy Sauce or Aminos, let them thicken up for just a moment, maybe 15 seconds.
4. Add the split peas and potatoes. Stir that around until the spices and herbs coat the peas and taters.
5. FINALLY, dump in the vegetable stock and stir to combine.
6. Put on the pressure lid, set valve to Sealing, press Cancel to turn off the Sauté function, press the Soup/Stew button, and adjust to 20 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes for the IP to get to temp.
7. When the timer goes off, do a Quick release (will take 5-7 minutes). Stir (because it does separate a bit), keep a sharp eye for the bay leaf and throw it away when you find it, and then eat it like you mean it!

Reheating

We usually leave the soup in the IP insert and affix a silicone lid to store overnight. The next day, things will look bleak. The split peas will have soaked up the liquid and the thing will look like you could lay brick with it. Fear not.

When the soup is cooking the night before or at this very moment, you got a quart-sized mason jar and into put: 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, a pinch each of smoked paprika and chipotle pepper, and 1 tbsp of stock concentrate. Filled it with warm water, put a lid on it, and carefully shook to combine.

An hour before lunch time, put the insert in the IP, put it on the Warm setting (also known as the Cancel button) and stir occasionally/when it loosens enough to let you. Put the herby-stock in the microwave for a minute or two, and stir it into the soup until you reach the desired consistency. You could just use water, but we found that it dilutes the flavor too much and it’s just not as good as the day before.

Vegetable Rice Soup

We tried this soup because it was Saturday, the meal plan had gotten completely horked up over several unexpected events and the unavailability of ingredients. I found it in The Food Lab by Kenji (here or here) and left out the chicken. I hope he doesn’t mind.

<40 paragraphs of unnecessary story and over-produced pictures>

Serves our family for one meal using some toast or other side bread.

Time: 30 minutes, a real 30 minutes with the chopping and everything.

Ingredients

• 2 Quarts of Chicken Stock or reconstituted Stock Concentrate
• 2 Medium Carrots, Chopped
• 2 Medium Celery Stalks, 1/4 inch slices
• 1 Yellow Onion, Chopped
• 1/2 cup, your favorite long grain white rice, raw
• 1 tbsp dried Parsley
• 2 cups of Kale, torn into 1-inch piece, optional (I didn’t have it this time):

Directions

1. Combine the stock, carrots, celery, onion, and rice in a Dutch oven and bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are almost tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Add the Kale, if using, and cook until all the vegetables and the rice are tender, about 5 minutes longer.
4. Stir in the parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

That’s it. Serve it!

Tomato Soup

This tomato soup started off as a copycat effort of the Panera Tomato Basil Soup. It is worth the effort to procure some San Marzano tomatoes. I’m not sure if the San Marzano’s at my local Costco are the “real” deal, but they’re better than the usually acidic ones that we had been getting and there is a perceptible difference by a 5 year old who was unaware of the change. Also goes well to dip with the Pane Veloce.

This scales well up or down. The below will make a gallon and a half of soup, which is enough for 2 meals for our family of 2 adults and three children. And a little bit to freeze.

Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 12 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 large yellow onion, sliced
• 6 (28 oz) cans San Marzano peeled tomatoes
• 3 cups vegetable stock (or stock concentrate + water)
• 3 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream or non-dairy cream replacement (cashew?)
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Optional Garnishes:

• 2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, optional
• buttery croutons, optional topping

Directions:

1. In a heavy bottomed pot (or dutch oven), heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds – until fragrant.
2. Add onion and cook, and sweat. Stirring as needed, until translucent – about 8 minutes.
3. Add San Marzano peeled tomatoes (juice and all), stock, and sugar. Bring to a low simmer. Cook uncovered, for 20 minutes or until it has thickened.
4. Add the heavy cream, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes and season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Using an immersion blender (or carefully transfer soup to a real blender – in batches), puree soup until there are no large chunks left.
6. OPTIONAL: Stir in Parmesan cheese and serve topped with buttery croutons.
7. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Red Beans and Rice

This is a vegan version of the Cajun classic, (don’t leave any comments about sacrilege or desecration or fake food or whatever). I’ve made substantial modifications from the vegetarian version offered in America’s Test Kitchen Vegetarian cookbook. We eat this about every other week. It will feed the five of us for dinner, lunch, and about a quart leftover to freeze for later. This recipe scales well but also freezes if you are into making a ton of it on a weekend and then using it up to a month later.

This will take some time, and I’ve not been successful with converting it to an Instant Pot or slow-cooker yet. So use your Instant Pot to make a batch of white rice per the multi-cooker’s instructions.

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 2 pounds small red beans (about 4 cups), rinsed and picked over
• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 4 celery ribs, chopped
• Seasoning Pack:
  • 8 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 1/2 tsp chipotle pepper powder
• 2 tablespoons Worchestershire Sauce or Liquid Aminos
• 6 cups low-sodium vegetable stock AND 6 cups water OR
  • 12 cups of water AND concentrated vegetable base
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, plus extra for seasoning

Directions

1. Soaking – soak the beans overnight in cold water (or at least 4 hours in hot water) so that they are submerged by at least 3 times more water than beans. You’ll know they’re done soaking when the beans have taken up most of the water. Either way, you’ll want 1 tbsp of kosher salt for every quart of water. For the above, I would plan 3 quarts of water for the 2 lbs of beans.
2. Drain – Drain and rinse the soaking liquid off the beans and let them sit in the colander while you spend the next 30 minutes chopping and measuring.
3. Sweat – In a large dutch oven over medium heat, warm the oil.  When hot, add the onions, bell peppers, and celery (the Cajun trinity) to the pot, with a heavy pinch of salt, and let them get soft. Then add the seasoning pack, and move it around for 30 seconds or so then the Sauce or Aminos (you can also add the stock concentrate at this point). Add the beans and move them around to get the flavor base incorporated all over the beans.
4. Simmer – Add the liquid (water + stock or just water), cover, and bring it up to a boil. The liquid should just cover the beans, by no more than a quarter of an inch. Once boiling, put it on low, give it another stir, put the cover back on. Then go about your life for an hour.
5. More Simmering – Take off the lid, (not much will have changed) add a tablespoon of the red wine vinegar, and stir. You will now need to keep an eye on things. You will need to stir once every 10 minutes, and then it will decrease in frequency until you are down to about every minute and the beans are starting to stick to the bottom. But the starches will show up and the liquid will start to thicken. I wish I had a decent timeline, but this step will take 1.5 to 2 hours. Luckily, with this big of a pot of stuff it doesn’t cool off easily; so if you are making this for a dinner party situation you should plan on it taking 2 hours and it should be done in time.
   Note: I recently had a pot of this stuff go for 3 hours on this step and I’m not sure why. So we went out for tacos and ate it the next day. Beans can be tricky depending on age, treatment and grower.
6. Eating – Chuck in at least 2 more tablespoons of Red Wine Vinegar and 2 tablespoons of oil. Taste for salt and pepper needs. Hopefully, you didn’t forget to make the rice. Because you need it now. We like to eat this with collard greens.
7. Reheating – When this cools, it hardens up like mortar. So the next day, throw it back on the stove with up to a cup of water to loosen it up and make it not look like dog food
8. Freezing – When it freezes, it expands. Like more than you think, I’ve shattered a quart-size Ball jar and a medium-sized Ziploc food container because I tried to squeeze too much into a container.

That’s it good luck. If you want to comment please make it constructive, no trolls or MAGA-hats (but really what’s the difference).