This featured recipe is one of the best ( if not THE best ) soup recipes I have ever tasted. I am totally crazy about this soup. To have a fresh view and opinion I have asked one of my great friends to try the recipe out for us and review it. All photos are taken by Heidi Robertson. Would you like to try a recipe for me and review it here? Drop me a line.
Hello friends, fans, faithful readers and taste testers! I am a good friend of Lindsay's, and a fan of her cooking, so I am pleased to be here today to share my thoughts on one of her well loved recipes from a (somewhat local) cookbook, which I am now seriously thinking about purchasing it. The Extra Vegan Za, from a Victoria, B.C. author Laura Matthias. You can also check out her farm/bed and breakfast as well!
here is the easy to make, and wonderful to eat recipe!
COCONUT CORN CHOWDER
2-3 tablespoons oil
1 medium leek, chopped
3 medium carrots, thinly sliced, or grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, diced
1/8 teaspoon cayenne ( i used quite a bit more than this, i love cayenne pepper!)
1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper, sliced however you would like
1 tablespoon coarse salt (i used regular table salt)
14 once can of garbanzo beans (or chick peas)
2 cups corn kernels
2 cups of water
2 cans, equaling out to 800 ml of coconut milk
in a pot, on medium high heat, stir-fry carrots, leek, garlic, cayenne pepper and jalapeno in oil, stirring frequently to avoid sticking.
when leek has softened, add garbanzo beans, peppers, corn, coconut milk, water and salt, bringing to a boil before reducing to a simmer, covering for around 15-20 minutes. remove from heat and enjoy!
cost: (4 STARS) not too bad at all. almost all of the ingredients I already had in my home. Coconut milk, the single jalapeno, and the leeks, (my new favourite veggie!) where the only things i had to purchase from the store.
if you had to go out and get every single food required for this recipe, it depends on what you're buying - if you buy organic, be prepared to spend more, but it is worth the extra dollars to put the better food in your body!
ease of prep: (5 STARS) folks, this soup was SO easy to make. all it requires is a can opener, a cutting board, a knife, (or slicer if you're ballin') a grater if you prefer using it for the carrots, and a stove and pot! Basically, anything you aren't using a can opener with, you are chopping up in whatever fashion you like, and adding it all together!
taste: (4.5 STARS) based on the fact that this recipe is vegan, the energy put into making it, the practical ingredients, and my tastebuds reaction, i'm giving this one a 4.5! I definitely have a soft spot for all things sweet, and spicy. This soup had a combination of both, which got me so excited! You see, at home I make mostly the same things every week, because I am not very knowledgeable in the world of culinary expertise, so i stick with what i know. But this recipe made me enthusiastic about making it again, and , for the second time i made it, I added in a few table spoons of unsweetened shredded coconut, and was very happy with the extra texture it added to the mix. I tried this soup along with my cousin and father, who both love meat dishes. They seemed to devour it with happy hearts, and compliments to the chef. My father, who adds a good 1/4 of salt to everything he eats, did not once lift turn that shaker over his bowl. I consider this a very valuable observation … it is roofer approved!
leftovers: (3.5 STARS)the recipe renders enough for about 3 hearty sized bowls. I live with 2 other men, so one batch of this soup didn't go far! When eaten the next day, the soup had even more kick to it, which was great, because I love it when the flavours have the extra time to really set in.
I hope you all enjoyed my review, and I really encourage anyone to try this recipe! even in this hot pepper of a summer! I slurped mine down with homemade iced tea and hummus with pita bread and did just fine!
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a note for the cynics out there. yes, I know it's a vegan recipe, full of veggies and beans and grains, but I see your eyes, narrowing at those numbers, followed by that sweet, sweet tropic liquid … "800 ml of COCONUT MILK?! HOW ABSURD!"
about a year back, I was scolded by a personal trainer who told me that the coconut milk i was using for a thai dish was "very fattening," and being a huge believer of the sweet milk, I was a little bummed out to hear this negative opinion. And, I am guessing a few people who take one look at this recipe are concerned with the amount of coconut milk in the soup as well. May I direct you here, to an interesting page I found while researching coconut milk? Found in this link are some interesting facts, benefits and uses for that great stuff made from coconuts that I have never known about - please take a gander, and decide for your self what you think about coconut milk.
Thanks to Lindsay for letting me share my thoughts, and add a wonderful dish to my list!
cheers and good health to all!
-heidi
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