15 Min. Corn/Veggie Chowder!

Ok. Quick comfort food. Something to tuck into this week's arsenal of meals:) My version is fat free and still tastes great but if you want to sauté the onion and garlic (and peppers, celery if using) in some butter or olive oil first that's fine too!

15 minute Corn/Veggie Chowder

1 carrot grated

1 large onion chopped finely 

1 large potato cubed in 1/2" squares

1 red pepper chopped finely (optional)

1 stalk of celery, finely chopped (optional)

1-2 garlic cloves minced or 1 tsp. garlic powder (I didn't have any real garlic)

1 can of corn, drained

1 can of creamed corn

Veggie broth or bullion cube

Almond milk, soy milk or regular milk.

1.Put everything except milk and creamed corn into a heavy pot. Add veggie broth or water/bullion cube to barely cover the top of veggies. 

2. Cover and simmer until potatoes and veg are cooked.(about 10-15 min)

3. Add creamed corn, salt and pepper to taste and heat.

3. I add the milk at the end, not much,  just to make it the consistency I like. I sometimes just leave it up whomever I'm serving it to to add the milk directly to their bowl instead; my daughter prefers real milk and I like almond milk:) 

You could  not add the milk at all to make it more of a brothy soup if you like. 

I add some smoked paprika and a dash of Siracha cha cha sauce to mine:). Yum. Enjoy!

Vegetarian / Vegan Chili Easy Peasy

Sunday morning, end of April and it is cold, grey and altogether uninviting outside. Perfect day to make some bright fragrant colourful chili. No real recipe, I just use what I have on hand. I use shortcuts with the beans, cans are fine. I drain and rinse them first. So here we go.... First chop two large onions and saute them in a heavy pot.( I dry saute them with no oil, when they start to stick I add a tiny splash of water or veggie broth). Add 3 cloves of minced garlic or more....

The story behind the two spoons is this... the small one is a regular sized spoon, the large one was from the set of The Shipping News, a movie with Kevin Spacey that was shot here. A friend of mine was the food stylist and gave it to me after the shoot. It was super sized and I just keep it for fun in my spoon jar on the kitchen counter...

Next add the chopped veggies you've assembled beforehand. I've got zucchini, mushrooms, carrots, peppers, celery, canned corn kernels drained and rinsed, bit of broccoli and some tomatoes.

 Dump them into the pot and stir for a bit.

 Add the spice. I used 3 tablespoons chili powder, 1 Tbsp cumin, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp of oregano and 1 tsp basil. I like my chili really seasoned. Use what you like and adjust for your own taste.

 Throw in the beans. I used red kidney and a can of mixed beans.
Next up add  a 28 oz can of chopped tomatoes and I had a smaller one of seasoned tomatoes so I added that too, as well as 2 cups of veggie broth. Preferably you add a tablespoon or two of tomato paste but I didn't have any. I like it just as well either way. Stir it all together. Cover and simmer away for about an hour or so. Stir occasionally.

Eh voila! I've topped it here with shredded spinach. You can eat it over rice or mashed potatoes and top with chopped avocado and shredded cheese or sour cream or whatever floats your boat. Easy peasy and very good:) Enjoy!

Basic Massaged Kale Salad

Kale beautiful kale! I pop mine into a jar of water and keep it on the counter where it stays fresh and gorgeous until I need it. It does go yellow a bit faster but it doesn't go limp. We don't like limp ha ha.
I've been making massaged kale salads recently. Yep, massaged:) Raw kale is hard to eat but massaging with dressing makes it supple and wilted and delicious. So for the salad, first wash and dry your hands, then wash and dry the kale, strip leaves from the hard stem and then chop into bite sized shreds or pieces.

Here is the fun part and the most crucial. Put the kale in a bowl, pour in your dressing (not too much) and start massaging away! Sort of  like scrunching and kneading someone's shoulders for about 5 minutes until it is soft, wilted and glossy. It will decrease in volume. You can also massage it just with lemon juice and salt and then once wilted add oil to taste for a really simple version.

Add whatever extras you would like, cherry tomatoes, sunflower seeds, grated carrot, fennel, bell peppers, snow peas, avocado,diced red onion, etc. You get the picture. Taste and add a bit more dressing if you like. Voila! Done!

The dressing I use is fat free. 1,2,3 Dressing. 1 part maple syrup, 2 parts Dijon mustard and 3 parts balsamic vinegar. ( I add garlic too) You can use ANY dressing you want. Enjoy!