Creamy Potato & Spinach Chowder

July 29, 2014 Kathleen Henry

“The less people know, the more stubbornly they know it.”

— Rajneesh

I think it might almost be officially fall here in Alaska. And yes, in case you're wondering, fall in the Last Frontier starts in July. Prompt and decidedly unapologetic. I judge it's early arrival by the daybreak. It's been exceptionally cold here in the mornings, which is always the first telling.

Steam breathes up from the dirt road as soon the sun peeks above the mountain tops in the dawn. I start to see Bailey's breath on our morning walks as he quietly pads down our driveway and branches are softly nudged from a gentle, crisp breeze, encouraging little yellow leaves to float to the earth. And there's the rain. Everlasting rain. The kind of wearisome drizzle you think might never end until it turns out one evening to spontaneously decide to be snow.

It's not all bad though. Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year. I love snuggling up in cozy sweaters and blankets and my special teacup deploys each evening for tea or cocoa. Coffee consumption surges as my wakings get a little colder, and a little darker with each passing sleep.

I'll miss the light the most though.

Last night, a lonely, bleak, and dreary evening indeed, beckoned for a chowder. A potato and spinach chowder. To be frank, any chowder would have sufficed, but I happened to have a bag of mixed baby fingerling potatoes and a lovely bundle of fresh spinach on hand and so it was.

Produce On Parade - Creamy Potato & Spinach Chowder

I'm not really sure what exactly constitutes a chowder and for fear of being incorrect on a technicality, I decided against Googling it. This is a chowder, dammit. A chunky and hot chowder promising couch snuggle-time while watching The Borgias on Netflix. That show is amazing by the way.

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Creamy Potato & Spinach Chowder

by Katie @ Produce on Parade July-29-2014

This is a rich, luxurious and chunky soup laden with tender baby potatoes and fresh, silky spinach. Note: Peel the potatoes if you must, but I definitely recommend keeping the peels on. Kombu is a type of seaweed that helps with digestion and is a good source of natural iodine. It’s often used in broths. I get mine off Amazon, but it is optional for this soup.

Ingredients

3 lbs. (about 6 cups) mixed baby fingerling potatoes, whole
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large brown onion, diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups vegetable broth
12 oz. non-dairy milk (I used hazelnut)
1 small strip of kombu (optional)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 bunch (10 oz.) fresh spinach leaves, washed and torn
1/2 diced avocado, for garnish (optional)
1/4 cup hemp seeds, for garnish (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Scrub the potatoes and place them in a large saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Allow to boil for about 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.Meanwhile, in a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the onions become fragrant and begin to brown. Stir in the flour. Then, stir in the remaining ingredients excluding the spinach and garnishes. Stir often, until the soup begins to thicken. Turn to low and add the spinach leaves. Mash 2 cups of boiled potatoes and add them to the soup. Dice the remaining potatoes and add to the soup as well. Stir to combine. Add more broth or milk for a thinner soup, if desired. The kombu can be removed and discarded once softened, or diced up and added back to the soup.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 25 mins Yield: 6-8

German Word of The Day

Chowder --> dicke Suppe (dick-eh Zup-eh) - dick means thick in German!

Good Deed of The Day

Ariana Grande thinks bacon is "beyond horrifying :( shocking disgusting and heartbreaking" and so do I. Here's a link to a 60 second video on how bacon is made, which is pretty pertinent information if you eat it! Apathy and ignorance doesn't do good for anyone.

Windy Hearth Stew

March 25, 2014 Kathleen Henry

I love it when I stumble upon a dish that is so perfect, it'll be entered into the regular rotation for dinner. This is one of those allstar recipes. I love this soup. It may look like a long list of ingredients, but it comes to together very easily. It's pretty hands off too, which is always good. The flavors in this stew can't be beat. Rice, sprouted beans, spinach, and sweet potato all make a debut, offering up loads of wholesome protein and fiber. There's ample seasoning suggested by turmeric, cumin, and savory. Rich and silky coconut milk make this stew delightfully creamy. This dish is hearty, delicious, and the perfect balance between rustic and modern.

My decision to call this dish Windy Heath Stew came to fruition based off the fact that it's been insanely, insanely windy around here lately. Yesterday, I came home to every single ski and pole crashed on the ground beside the house. I guess that's what I get for not putting them away? In the loft, the windows were being battered so hard that it actually knocked a large, multi-photo frame off the windowsill.

After picking up the wreckage, I searched the house until I found Bob cowered on his bed, in the corner, tucked into a tiny ball of fur and limbs. He has a strong aversion to wind, poor thing. He's basically a big chicken. When I let him out the front door, he looked around sketchily with his ears back flat against his pinhead and then nervously sprinted to the back to door to be let inside at once. Knocking loudly at the door. Yes, he seriously knocks at the door. Sometimes more urgently than others.

Todd had some errands to do after work, so there I found myself...just Bob, the wind, and me. While making this soup, I couldn't help the feeling that I was in a storybook in which the wind was some evil omen and all I was trying to do was cook up some hot and hearty stew in my apron, over the ~~oven~~ hearth for my companion and me to fill our bellies with. Why yes, on occasion I might have a bit of an overactive imagination. Why do you ask? Oh and also, in this imaginary tale...I don't have an electric rice cooker. Just ignore that bit.

Windy Hearth Stew

Serves 8

Notes: Feel free to use any type of rice and/or sprouted beans you'd like. Also, this soup would probably freeze well.

Rice:
1 cup red rice, dry
2 cups water
pinch of kosher salt
Aromatics:
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground savory
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
Sustenance:
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed
6 cups water
1 medium sweet potato, cubed small
2 cups dried sprouted beans (I use TruRoots Sprouted Bean Trio)
2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
Conclusion:
1 Tbsp. liquid amino acids or soy sauce
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 15 oz. can of full-fat coconut milk

First, cook the rice. I cook mine by combining the rice, water, and salt in an electric rice cooker and allowing it to sit for about 45 minutes. Please cook the rice according to your package and/or rice cooker.

Meanwhile, heat the coconut oil over medium-low in a large soup pot. Add the remaining aromatic ingredients and saute about 5 minutes or until the onions are tender.

Defrost the spinach, then add to the soup pot along with the remaining sustenance ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Cover and simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes, until the beans and sweet potato cubes are tender.

Remove from heat and add the conclusion ingredients. By now the rice should be done cooking and can be added as well. Stir to combine.

Serve hot.

Listening to: Shakira – Broken Record

German Word of The Day: Stew --> Eintopf (pronounced: eyen-topf)

Good Deed of The Day: Please sign this petition to have United Airlines change their policies to protect animals that are flying on airplanes, after a dog was found dead when the negligent airline left him in extreme heat. Bob's never flown anywhere but I couldn't even begin imagine the suffering! So tragic.

[yumprint-recipe id='99']

Butternut Miso & Quinoa Soup

March 4, 2014 Kathleen Henry

Are there people out there who're going about not liking miso? I can't imagine it. An absurd notion, for sure. Red miso is my favorite because it's the most misoy of all the misos. Why even bother with mellow yellow or boring white miso when you can have bold and radical red miso? I'm just a miso extremist I guess.

This is an umami laden soup that's hearty enough for a meal. A miso-tahini broth stocked with butternut squash and yam, that's swimming with red quinoa and spinach. Topped with fresh avocado.

Butternut Miso & Quinoa Soup

Serves 4

4 cups water
1 4" piece of kombu (optional)
1 cup frozen cubed butternut squash
1/2 red garnet yam or sweet potato, diced
2 cup cooked red quinoa (I make lots and freeze it)
handful of spinach, chopped
3 Tbsp. red miso
2-4 Tbsp. tahini
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1/2 avocado, diced
fresh basil, for garnish (optional)
sesame seeds, for garnish

In a medium soup pot, bring the water, kombu, squash, and yam to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes over low, until the squash and sweet potato are tender.

Add in the quinoa and the spinach. Cook for an additional few minutes, until the spinach has wilted. Remove from heat and allow to cool a minute or two.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl add about 1/2 cup of the soup water. Whisk in the miso until smooth. Add the thinned miso to the soup pot.

Repeat with the tahini.

Add in the vinegar and the avocado. At this point you can remove the kombu and discard it, but better yet mince it up and add it back to the soup!

Serve hot and topped with fresh basil and sesame seeds.

Listening to: [soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/113364689" params="color=63a88a&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]