Corn Chowder

I have two corn chowder recipes -- a thick and hearty winter stew and a lighter summer soup. This is the summer version, made with herbs and veggies from my garden and vegetables from this week's Door to Door Organics box. It's a little sweet, a little spicy, and surprisingly filling.

The onions were originally one onion that sprouted in my pantry. I planted it and it grew into three small onions. I trimmed the greens occasionally to use in recipes and just let the onion grow. Since the greens were starting to wilt, signalling the coming end of growth, I harvested the onions today so I could use both the bulbs and the remaining greens. The soup had a slight citrus kick from the lime basil I added from my garden, but you can use another variety of basil if you choose. I also grew the jalapeno, the first of my peppers to be ready this season.

Corn Chowder

3 ears of corn
1 jalapeno, minced
1 large (or 3 small) onion, diced
1 tsp olive oil
small bunch of onion greens or 4 scallions, sliced thin
1 lb yellow potatoes, diced (include peels)
4-6 ribs celery, sliced thin (include the leaves)
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
3 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh sweet or lime basil, chopped
pinch allspice
pinch ground cayenne
1 tsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
2 cups soy milk

Shuck the corn, then use a sharp knife to strip the kernels from the cobs.

In a large saucepan or a stock pot, saute the onion and jalapeno in the olive oil for 2-3 minutes, until onion becomes translucent. Add the potatoes and celery and saute for several more minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients except the soy milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes, until potatoes are soft.

Remove from heat and stir in the soy milk before serving.

Kohlrabi Two Ways

My garden has been in full bloom for a while. I planted four kohlrabi starts early in the season and they recently became ready to harvest. I wasn't sure what to do with the alien-looking vegetables since I'd never tasted them before, so I decided to treat them as a root vegetable. If you grow kohlrabi or manage to buy bulbs with the greens still attached, don't discard the greens. They are very edible with a mild flavor similar to collards or turnip greens. One fully-grown kohlrabi produces a 2.5-4 inch diameter bulb with a large bunch of greens.

In addition to gardening from starts and seeds, I have also been growing the onions that sprout in my pantry. The greens are edible with a flavor similar to scallions, so I snip a few as the onion develops and toss them in my dishes. South African Smoked Seasoning can be found in a spice grinder at Trader Joe's. It's optional, but adds a great flavor to food, so I recommend picking up a jar of it or looking for a similar product in other stores.

Kohlrabi fresh from the garden.

Roasted Root Vegetables over wild rice and Greens and Beans.

Roasted Root Vegetables

2 kohlrabi
2 small sweet potatoes
1 vidalia onion
3 carrots
1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 Tbsp minced fresh basil
1 Tbsp minced fresh oregano
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
South African Smoked Seasoning, to taste (optional)

Preheat oven to 400F.

Peel kohlrabi and sweet potatoes, then slice into 1/4" rounds. Cut each round in half to make a half-moon shape. Peel and slice the onion. Slice the carrots into rounds.

Place all vegetables into a casserole dish. Toss with fresh herbs, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Cover dish and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover from dish and bake another 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Serve over wild rice or another grain of your choice. Season to taste with smoked seasoning, if desired.

Greens and Beans

1 bunch kohlrabi greens
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 onion greens, sliced thin (substitute 3 scallions if you don't have access to onion greens)
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
South African Smoked Seasoning, to taste (optional)

Wash the kohlrabi greens well. Remove the stems and tear or cut the greens into bite-sized pieces.

Heat the oil in a skillet. Add garlic and onion greens and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add the kohlrabi greens and saute for about 5 minutes, until greens are tender. Add chickpeas and seasonings. Cook long enough to heat the beans, then remove from heat and serve.

Sourdough Pizza Crust

I recently made a batch of sourdough crackers and decided to try using some of the dough for bread sticks. It had the consistency of pizza crust, so I tweaked the recipe slightly and made a pizza with the next batch. Turbokid loved it and even ate the crust, something he rarely does.

Vegan barbecue "chicken" pizza - barbecue sauce, vegan chicken, sauteed zucchini, chopped roma tomatoes, and Daiya mozzarella cheese.

Sourdough Pizza Crust

1 cup sourdough starter
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Kneed just until dough is smooth, adding a little more flour if the dough is sticky. Form dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and let it sit in a warm location for at least six hours and up to twenty-four. The dough can be refrigerated after the proofing time if you're not able to use it right away.

Preheat oven to 375C. Lightly grease a baking sheet, then roll the dough onto the sheet into the desired shape and thickness. You can roll up the edges of the dough to give a thicker edge crust.

Bake crust for 8-10 minutes, then remove from oven and add sauce and toppings. Return to oven and bake another 10 minutes, until crust is golden.

Spaghetti Squash and Fava Beans with Sunflower Pesto

Spaghetti squash is a great alternative to pasta if you're trying to avoid grains or simple carbohydrates. I often pair it with a tomato-based pasta sauce, but tonight I decided to raid the basil pots in my kitchen window and make pesto. I only got one cup worth of leaves from my poor, stripped little plants, so I decided to make a milder pesto by adding spinach. The first can of beans I pulled out of the pantry were fava beans, but you can substitute favas with any other bean you like.

Spaghetti Squash and Fava Beans with Sunflower Pesto

Ingredients:
1 medium-sized spaghetti squash

1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp salt

1 can fava beans, drained and rinsed
2 shallots, sliced thin
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp olive oil
pinch salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375F. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place cut side down on a cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes.

While the squash is baking, make the pesto. Place basil, spinach, sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast, olive oil, and salt in a food processor and process until smooth. The spinach may cause the pesto sauce to oxidize and turn a little darker, but this doesn't affect the flavor.

Heat 1 tsp of olive oil in a saute pan. Add shallots and mushrooms and saute for 3-4 minutes, until shallots are translucent. Add beans, salt, and pepper, and continue sauteing for another 1-2 minutes until beans are hot.

When the squash is done cooking, use a fork to separate the strands. Put squash on plates and spoon pesto and bean mixture on top. Mix the pesto into the squash before eating.

Serves about 3.

Festive Toasted Couscous

I had a pomegranate in need of devouring so I mixed up this fun little side dish. My one-year-old ate about a third of the arils as I removed them from the fruit. She seems to have a new favorite snack! I cheated and used pre-cut raw butternut squash because the grocery store was out of whole butternuts. 

Festive Toasted Couscous

1 1/3 cups Israeli couscous

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 cups vegetable broth

2 cups butternut squash, diced

1/3 cup toasted sliced almonds

1/2 cup pomegranate arils

2 tsp minced fresh basil

salt to taste

Steam butternut squash until tender. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a saucepan, saute couscous in the olive oil until the couscous is lightly browned (about 5 minutes). Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer until the liquid is absorbed (about 12 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

Mix in the squash, almonds, pomegranate arils, and basil, and salt to taste.

Lemon Basil Bread

I love the smell of fresh-baked bread. It invokes sweet memories of childhood and experiments have correlated experiencing the smell of fresh bread to being kinder to strangers. Scents can invoke memories and alter moods in unexpected ways and the scent of bread brings many people comfort.

I've been using this recipe for a couple years. Many homemade bread recipes require eggs or milk, but this is simpler. I've livened it up from the usual yeast-salt-flour combination and given it a kick of herbs and citrus. The oat flour can be replaced by whole wheat, but I recommend keeping the all-purpose flour as is so the bread does not become too dense for the fresh citrus flavor.

Lemon Basil Bread

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 package)
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup oat flour
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2-2 tsp fresh lemon zest
2 Tbsp fresh basil, minced
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted (canola or another vegetable oil also works. Olive oil has too strong of a flavor for this bread).

In a small bowl, dissolve 1 Tbsp of the sugar and the yeast in the water. Let stand for about 5 minutes, or until bubbly.

In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup of the all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup of the oat flour, the lemon juice, lemon zest, basil, salt, the remaining 1 Tbsp sugar, and coconut oil.

Add the yeast mixture and mix until well combined. Add the remaining flour and stir well. The dough will be a little sticky.

Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place for about 40 minutes, or until the size is approximately doubled. Punch the dough down. Place the dough in a greased loaf pan. Smooth the top and pat the dough to fill the corners. Cover the dough again and let it rise another 40 minutes, or until doubled.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 35-40 minutes. The bread is done when the loaf sounds hollow when the crust is golden and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool, then slice and serve with non-dairy butter.

Note:
Agave butter is great with this because the sweetness balances out the tartness of the lemon. Just mix 1 tsp of agave nectar into 2 Tbsp of non-dairy butter like Earth Balance.