Corn and Zucchini Fritters

I had a fridge full of ears of corn and wanted to try something different with them. The word FRITTER just kind of appeared in my mind, which is weird because I had literally never made any kind of fritter before. I did a bit of reading online to get a sense of what to do (though I was really surprised at the variation in recipes; some with flour, some without, some with liquid, some without….). Then I just kind of went for it and was so pleasantly surprised at how well these turned out. I whipped up a quick avocado dipping cream to go with them. I think these delicious and very easy fritters will become a regular menu item!

I’m sure these would lend themselves to lots of variations, especially with different fresh herbs or seasonings. I used chickpea flour mainly because I’ve been wanting to try working with it, but I think almost any flour would work pretty well (Note: depending on which flour you use, they might not be gluten-free anymore).

To roast corn on the cob, remove the outer husks so that a few leaves remain covering the corn and cook in oven at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes or until done.

Yield: about 10 fritters

• Kernels removed from two cobs of roasted corn (see above), or use 1.5 cups canned or frozen
• 1 medium zucchini, grated
• 1 handful chives, chopped
• 1 cup chickpea flour (would probably work with other flours too!)
• ½ cup water
• Tabasco to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Coconut oil for frying

Add corn, grated zucchini, chives, and flour to a mixing bowl and combine well. Add a few dashes (or more!) of Tabasco, then start adding the water gradually while stirring the mixture. You may need a little more or less than half a cup; just aim for everything to be moistened into a batter that will at least sort of stick together when you scoop some up with a spoon.

Heat about a teaspoon of coconut oil over medium heat (about 6) in a nonstick frying pan. Drop large spoonfuls of the corn mixture into the pan, using the back of the spoon or a spatula to flatten them out a bit. Cook until golden on one side, about 4 minutes, then flip and continue to fry until cooked through. Add another teaspoon of coconut oil to the pan for each new batch. Place finished fritters on a paper towel until ready to serve.

Serve with the avocado cream or with hot sauce, chutney, or vegan sour cream.

For the avocado cream:

• 1 avocado
• Juice of one lime
• ¼ cup of nondairy milk (just enough milk to get it all to purée to your desired consistency).
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Small handful of chopped cilantro

Add all ingredients except chopped cilantro to a high-speed blender. Blend, then fold in chopped cilantro.

Carrot Sweet Potato Soup with Ginger & Coconut

Am I overdoing it on the soups?  Is that possible?

This soup is both aesthetically and gastronomically pleasing… looking as beautiful in the bowl as it tastes in your mouth!  An undercurrent of rich coconut adds depth to the delicious combination of carrot, sweet potato, and ginger.

After making a huge pot of veggie broth yesterday, I realized that my freezer is a little too full to accommodate a bunch of cup-sized frozen broth cubes.  As I was mulling over the broth-y possibilities, R. pulled out the giant bags of carrots and sweet potatoes we bought on a rare trip to Costco, and pointed out the half-bar of creamed coconut that’s been waiting forlornly for a purpose for an indefinite period of time.  He asked if I could make these things into a soup.  Yes, yes I could.

(Note: I wanted a very subtle coconut flavour to complement the ginger, so I used only a quarter-bar of creamed coconut.  If you really like coconut though, I think you could add up to half a bar for a stronger coconut flavour.)

Yield: Lots…. probably a good 8 servings.  (Or, dinner + seconds + leftovers to freeze!)

• 5 very large carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
• Olive oil
• 2 yellow onions, finely chopped
• Cooking oil (I use canola)
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 inches of ginger, minced
• 2 smallish sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 4 cups vegetable broth (more or less)
• ¼ bar of creamed coconut (the full bar is 170g), roughly chopped
• ¾ cup milk of choice (I used soy)
• Fresh ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 400.  Toss the carrots in olive oil and spread onto a baking sheet, then roast until softened through, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat some cooking oil over medium in a large stockpot.  Add the onion, celery, and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until softened.  Add about 3 cups of broth and the diced potatoes and turn heat to high.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are soft.  At some point during the simmer, the carrots will probably be done and can be added to the soup.

Once the potatoes are very soft, turn off the heat.  Stir in the milk and the creamed coconut and let the soup cool until it’s no longer hot enough to burn you if it splatters during pureeing.

Add fresh ground black pepper.  Using an immersion blender (or a food processor, but you’ll have to do it in batches), puree the soup.  Add more broth to reach your preferred consistency.  I tasted the soup before adding salt and discovered it was perfect, so I didn’t end up adding any at all!

Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil to serve.

Favourite Recipes: Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup

This roasted tomato and roasted garlic soup will mark the start of a series of posts on my favorite recipes from around the web.  I’ve been making this soup for years, since almost flipping past it on Rachael Ray’s show.  Yep, it’s 100% Rachael Ray; I haven’t even significantly tweaked it.  It’s perfect already!  Check out the full recipe here.

It’s the ideal time of year to find perfectly ripe and dirt-cheap roma tomatoes.  Seeing the abundance of these beauties at the store a few days prompted me to make a double batch of this ultra-healthy soup.  (It freezes really well, so I like to make lots and freeze half.)

At this point, I’ve made this recipe enough times that I’ve stopped measuring things and just go with the flow.  I generally use more tomatoes than called for, and more garlic (surprise surprise!).  For this batch, I bought a ton of tomatoes and used as many as I could fit on two baking sheets, and five heads of garlic.  I use my own homemade broth, but you could certainly use whatever store-bought veggie broth you prefer.

One tweak I like is to hold off on adding the fresh herbs (I use parsley and basil) to the tomatoes before roasting; rather, I add them to the soup just before pureeing, in order to keep the herbs tasting fresh and bright.  Also, instead of pureeing in multiple messy batches in the food processor, I use an immersion blender right in the soup pot (ensuring that the soup is not hot before blending).

As an aside, I love to make mashed potatoes (or half-and-half mashed potatoes and cauliflower) to serve with this soup.  It’s the ultimate comfort-food combination.  I actually have gotten into the habit of putting a big scoop of mash into the bowl before covering it with soup and eating them together…. I know, it sounds weird, but if you try it I bet you’ll like it!

This soup (with or without mash) is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.  Some people may be surprised by a tomato soup without a creamy component, but they are quickly convinced.  It’s a fantastic, easy, and healthy recipe to add to your repertoire.  Thanks Rachael Ray!