Corn Chowder Soup

This one is from a fancy recipe book I got for Christmas one year. It's the only thing I've ever made from that book.

Ingredients
5 slices of bacon - chopped
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups yellow onion - chopped
2 tbsp flour or corn starch
4 cups of vegetable broth/stock
2 large white potatoes (I just use hasbrowns, way easier than cutting everything up)
1 cup light cream (or soy creamer)
1/4 tsp pepper/salt
4 cups corn kernals (I use frozen ones)
1 large red/orange pepper - chopped
3 green onions - diced

Preparation
wilt the bacon in a large stockpot over low heat until the fat is rendered (5 minutes)
Add the butter to the pot and melt. Then add the onion and sweat over low heat for about 10 minutes until soft but not brown. Add the thickener and stir for another 2 - 3 minutes.

Add the vegetable stock to the pot and then add the potatoes and cook until soft on med-low heat, about 10 - 15 minutes. The add the corn and cook about 5 minutes.

Now add the cream, red pepper, seasonings and onions. Stir in and cook only about 5 minutes and then serve immediately! I like to put my tvp bacon bits on this to add more flavor, but do what tates best to you!

Corn Meal Muffins

I love these muffins, they taste so good and go with everything! They are also super easy to make, it's just like making porridge - which is most welcome on these cold days. This is also a 2-part recipe

Ingredients
2 cups soy milk
1 cup cornmeal
1 egg
1/3 cup honey
1/4 c oil

Preparation
In a saucepan, combine and cook the above ingredients until mixed and starting to thicken, about 10 minutes.

Ingredients 2
1 cup flour (spelt, amaranth, or whatever you like)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt

Preparation
Sift together the dry ingredients and fold into the wet ingredients in saucepan. Combine and spoon into muffin tins. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until tops are brown and you can smell them when you walk in the house from shoveling snow.

Lentil Soup

Some people have requested that I share my recipes with them. I try to make dishes that are vegetarian/vegan and nut/ gluten free due to allergies among our guests. Here's one of my favorites taken from the book "Eating Alive", by John Matsen, it's a 2 part recipe so make sure you look at both parts for ingredients:

Ingrediants
6 cups water or vegetable stock
1 cup brown lentils (washed)
4 - 6 celery stalks
2 carrots sliced
1 onion chopped
1-2 cloves garlic

Preparation
Simmer stock, vegetables and lentils for about 1 hour until lentils start to soften

Ingrediants 2
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp braggs
3 tsp parsley
1 tsp sea salt
1.5 tsp italian spice
1/8 tsp cayenne
5 dashes kelp

Preparation 2
add spices to soup and simmer another 20 minutes. Enjoy!