Vegetarian Corn and Sweet Potato Chowder

Every week we get a lovely, fresh, frothy half-gallon of farm fresh milk from a local farm. And then, the race is on. We don't have a refrigerator, so I buy a fresh bag of ice every day until the milk is gone. But even so, sometimes it isn't "getting gone" quite fast enough. I don't want to waste something so precious. No spoiled milk down the drain here. So, when I realized our milk was on its last legs--with a fair amount left--I went looking for a chowder recipe.

It had to be simple. It had to be child-friendly. And it had to have LOTS of milk. I found it, by blending two different recipes together.

Vegetarian Corn & Sweet Potato Chowder

   
Serves 4
You will need...

1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1/2 celery stalk, chopped (optional, I didn't have so didn't use)
16 oz. sweet corn (can be fresh, frozen or canned. just don't buy "cheap corn" as it is tough.)
1 large bay leaf or 2 small
4 cups milk, whole or low fat
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped (I only had a green pepper, so used that instead)
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or substitute 1 tsp dried thyme)

What to do...

1) In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, until soft. Add the carrot and celery and cook for 4 or 5 more minutes.

2) Add the milk and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a bare simmer. Cover the pot and cook for 30 minutes. Make sure the heat is as low as can be and still maintain a gentle simmer. Be sure heat is low enough to prevent scalding the milk on the bottom of the pan.

3) Discard the bay leaf. Raise the heat, add the potatoes, red/green pepper, 1 teaspoon of salt, fresh ground pepper to taste, bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are almost fork tender.

4) Raise the heat, add the corn kernels and the thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.

How Do You Cook on a Boat?

Wellllllll......

I have a three burner propane range.

And I have a diesel heater with a cook top that I put our Dutch oven on.

AND...

AND!

We just ordered a new oven! I am finally going to have an oven! But don't despair! If you are one of those proud boat folks with no oven, you will still find plenty of recipes here for you.

Example: Today I made delicious and simple zucchini bread in my Dutch Oven. And seriously, if your diesel heater with cook top is blazing merrily along, keeping your boat toasty and cozy, why on earth would you bother pre-heating an oven and going to all that trouble? And waste your propane? You wouldn't. You would pull out your trusty Dutch Oven and make scrumptious zucchini bread.

Here goes:

Super Simple and Healthy Zucchini Bread

Okay, so I took a bit of the butter off after taking the picture...

You will need...

1.5 cups flour (whole wheat or white)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1.5 tsp cinnamon (I used almost 2 tsp.)
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups grated zucchini
1/4 cup applesauce (or veggie oil)
1.5 tsp vanilla (I used almost 2 tsp.)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

What to do...

1) Place Dutch Oven on heater or over burner to begin preheating. If using burner, use a medium flame.

2) Mix all the dry ingredients thoroughly.

3) Mix all the wet ingredients thoroughly.

4) Combine and stir until just well-mixed. Don't over-stir. Pour into a well greased baking pan that fits in your Dutch Oven. Place baking pan on elevated surface in Dutch Oven. If you have not used a Dutch Oven for baking bread before, follow this link and check out Step SIX.

5) Cover, and bake until delicious smells fill the air. Check, and let steam out. Re-cover, and bake until knife comes out mostly clean (just a few moist crumbs sticking is good).

4) Remove from pan, and allow to cool, but not too much! Warm with butter is the best.

I decided to try just one slice. Nearly a quarter of the pie slice.