Fall had decided to show it’s presence earlier this week, and I was torn between roasted root veggies and soup.  Then I thought, “Why not have both?”

Thus, this soup was born.

There is a lot of yummy flavor in here – a special sweetness that comes from the roasted veggies and the herbs.  If you or someone you know is feeling under the weather, make some of this.

Ingredients:

• 1 small-medium purple sweet onion
• 4 cloves garlic – diced
• 5 small potatoes
• 4 med-small carrots
• 1 2-inch long radish
• 1 small kohlrabi
• 1 zucchini
• olive oil
• dash of salt
• sprinkling of cracked black pepper
• 1/4 cup apple cider
• 1.2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a 9×13″ pan or a shallow corningware baking dish.  Peel and chop the potatoes, carrots, zucchini and kohlrabi, and cut the onion in to chunks.  Slice the radish.  Pile all of these into the baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Pour in the apple cider and vinegar.  Cover loosely with foil.

Bake this in the oven at 350F until the veggies begin to caramelize, about 1-1/2 hours.

This can be done a day or so in advance.

• olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic – minced
• 2 chicken breasts or 6 chicken tenders
• 1 carton chicken broth
• 1-4″ sprig rosemary – minced
• sage – crushed
• 2-3 cups cooked brown rice

In a dutch oven, drizzle olive oil in the bottom and cook the onions and garlic until translucent.  Brown the chicken and cut into bite-sized chunks.  Add the roasted veggies, rice and chicken broth.  If you need more liquid, you can add some water or more broth.  Add the rosemary and sage to taste, and let it cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes to give the flavors a chance to blend

Serve with thick-cut bread.

This is a thick, hearty stew when it’s all said and done.  The rice absorbs some of the broth, so if you are planning on leftovers, you may need to add more broth the next day.  You can also use barley in place of the rice.  It’s also a great way to hide some veggies from your kids!  If you chop them very fine, you can sneak the zucchini and kohlrabi in without any questions.  Or leave the chicken out and use veggie broth for a vegan stew that is sure to satisfy.

I set out to make a pot of potato soup the other night… and it turned into something entirely different, but very tasty!

We had some leftover salmon from the night before, so I added that in with the garlic and leeks. Then I used a buttery sweet corn soup (from Pacific) that I had in the pantry instead of the milk. That made for a very tasty chowder in and of itself… but then I kicked it up another notch! We also had some spicy sour cream leftover from the night before – basically sour cream mixed with cholula pepper sauce & dry cholula seasoning – and a can of fire roasted green chilis. The result was nearly sublime!

I’m calling it Western Seafood Chowder, as it is a melding of Southwestern and Northwestern cooking. It is a great meal starter, or make it the meal!

5 red potatoes – peeled & chopped
5 carrots – peeled and chopped
1/2 cup corn nibblets

seafood options
pre-cooked fish (leftovers are great!)
scallops
clams
fish (salmon, halibut, cod, tilapia, etc)

2 Tbsp. minced leek
1-2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 small can ortega green chilis or jalapenos (depending on the heat you want) or 1 fresh jalapeno, diced and seeded
2 slices peppered bacon – cut into 1/2-inch pieces before frying
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. whole wheat flour
1-1/2 tsp. black pepper OR Montreal Steak Seasoning
1/4 tsp. white pepper
seafood seasoning of your choice

1/2 carton Pacific Buttery Sweet Corn soup
1/2 carton chicken broth
2 Tbsp. heavy cream

Cheddar cheese – shredded
sour cream*

Boil the potatoes and carrots until soft. About 5 minutes before they are done, add the corn (frozen works well).

In a large saucepan melt 2 Tbsp. of butter, add the uncooked bacon pieces and saute the pepper, leeks and garlic until translucent. If you are using uncooked fish, scallops or clams, add them at this time. Add a touch of olive oil if the butter starts to cook off too soon. Add the black and white pepper and the seafood seasoning. If you are using pre-cooked seafood, add it now.

Sprinkle the flour over the garlic mixture and stir quickly to create a roux. Add the rest of the butter, and allow it to brown. If it is too thick, add the heavy cream.

Add some of the corn soup and stir to mix in the roux with no lumps.

Drain the potatoes and add them to the soup base. Add the rest of the corn soup and chicken broth – enough to make the soup slightly thinner that you want it to end up. If you haven’t added the cream yet, add it now.

Let it simmer for 10 minutes or so and taste it to see if it needs any more seasonings.

Sprinkle shredded cheese in the bottom of each bowl – enough to make a small mound. Ladle the chowder into the bowls and add a dollop of sour cream* to the top. Sprinkle with cheese and chives or dill to garnish.

Serve with warm tortillas or crusty sourdough bread.

*for a tasty upgrade to your sour cream, take 1/2 cup sour cream and mix in 1/2 to 1 tsp. hot chili sauce like cholula or tobasco. You can make it as hot as you want it by adding more or less sauce!