super tasty dish + super tasty soup = tastebuds explode

The potatoes pictured here are my favorite recipe out of Vegan with a Vengeance. I'll admit I haven't tried everything in there, but if all of the recipes were children trapped in a fire, this is the one I'd save: Maple-Mustard-Glazed Potatoes and String Beans. Long name, amazing results -- to quote a phrase from the (yourcityhere)helpwanted.com radio ads. As these potatoes will probably crop up in future meal photos, I want to focus on the soup.

The original recipe came out of Real Simple magazine, which is kind of a crappy magazine, but I bought it once to see what it was like. It was also non-vegan, so I replaced the bacon with tempeh bacon and half-and-half with regular almond milk. Some soy creamer might be pretty good too. Anyhow, the recipe!

Smoky Corn Chowder

3 slices of tempeh Fakin' Bacon
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp smoked paprika*
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 10-oz package frozen corn*
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cup almond milk
salt & pepper
scallions to top


Cook the tempeh bacon in a wok or soup pot according to Lisa Specialty: Use wok oil & Mongolian fire oil, and spread a thin layer of A1 sauce on top of each piece. Cook for four minutes, then flip and cook another four minutes. Set aside. Use the same pot to cook the onion for 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic, paprika, and red pepper, stirring, and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in the corn, broth, and almond milk, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, and chop up the tempeh bacon into small pieces while waiting. Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to the pot, and add salt and pepper to taste. Divide the soup into bowls and top with scallions and tempeh.

* Okay, I admit I would be a terrible cookbook chef. This is the recipe I was looking at when I was whipping up this soup, but I didn't exactly follow it. I was initially trying to halve this, and then abandoned that idea, so I put corn in until it was "about right". I have no idea how much was actually in there. So... add corn until you think it looks right! Helpful, eh? Also, I like paprika and made the terrible mistake of thinking that I could just sprinkle in a little bit extra. So I turned the bottle over the pot and... whoosh! I somehow thought it would come out slower! Oops! I scooped out as much as I could, and in the end the soup was very paprika-y, but that somehow made it. Again, no idea how much was in there. If you want more flavor, add more paprika... just do it the right way. ;-)