Foodie Fridays: Creamy Coconut Chicken Corn Chowder

February has been a really cold month here in New Mexico, so I have been making a lot of soups lately.  I was looking for a soup recipe that used corn, chicken, and coconut milk since I had those ingredients available, and found one for Coconut Chicken Corn Chowder.  I changed a few of the ingredients and some of the directions as well to make preparation easier, and ended up with a delicious creamy soup that is perfect for serving with a sandwich for lunch or dinner.  Once again I added the spicy pecan vinegar which is my current obsession, but you could leave it out or substitute your own favorite flavored vinegar.

Next week we are supposed to have much warmer temperatures so I am not sure how much longer I will be craving soup, but right now this recipe really hits the spot when it comes to warming comfort foods!

Creamy Coconut Chicken Corn Chowder

2 T. olive oil
1 C. finely diced celery (about 4 stalks)
1 small onion, finely diced
1 sweet potato, peeled and finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 C. frozen corn kernels
1/2 tsp. sea salt, divided
1 can (15 oz.) cut baby corn, including liquid (optional)
4 C. chicken stock (I used unsalted)
1 can (12.5 oz) chicken breast (or use one cooked, diced chicken breast)
1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk (I used low fat)
1 tsp. dried basil
3 T. spicy pecan vinegar

In a large saucepan, heat the oil on medium.  Cook the celery, onion, and sweet potato in the oil, stirring often, until celery and onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic, corn, and ¼ tsp salt and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in the baby corn liquid if using plus the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes.

Stir in the cut baby corn if using and the canned chicken, breaking up the larger chicken chunks.  Add the coconut milk and basil and cook until heated through.  Stir in the vinegar.  Remove from the heat and, using an immersion blender, blend until creamy but still slightly chunky.  Serves 6.

Foodie Fridays: Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

We are currently experiencing the coldest temperatures as well as the most snow so far for this winter.  Whenever it gets this cold my thoughts immediately turn to warm and hearty soups for meals.  I have been looking for recipes that use red lentils since I have an almost full bag of them, and I found a great one for Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup with Rice on the Half Baked Harvest website (always a wonderful source for excellent recipes).  I pretty much followed the recipe exactly, except for reducing the amount of cilantro which my husband does not like, eliminating the rice which I did not feel we needed, and adding 2 T. of a flavored vinegar I had on hand (Cuisine Perel Spicy Pecan Vinegar, but a sherry vinegar or even apple cider vinegar should be good as well).

This soup is so delicious!  I rarely cook with coconut milk, but I think I should use it more often, and make curries more often as well.  I bought pre-chopped sweet potatoes, which made this soup even easier to put together.  It cooks quickly - I started making it at 11 o'clock in the morning and it was ready to eat by noon.  I really recommend this recipe, especially if you too are now enduring frigid wintry weather!

Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

2 T. olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 T. minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 T. yellow curry powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste
4 C. vegetable stock (I use unsalted) or water
3/4 C. dried red lentils
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
2 T. vinegar, or to taste
1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk
2 C. baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 T. chopped cilantro, or to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook 5 minutes until soft.  Add the ginger, garlic, and sweet potatoes and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Stir in the curry powder and cayenne and cook another minute.

Add the stock, lentils, and salt.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes, until the lentils are soft and the sweet potatoes are tender.

Stir in the vinegar, coconut milk, and spinach, and cook 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and taste for seasonings, adding more salt and/or vinegar as needed.  Stir in the cilantro and serve.  Serves 6.

This 'n That Thursdays: Tea and Ink Society 2022 Classics Reading Challenge

Last year I found a new blog to enjoy called Tea and Ink Society, self-described as "a (mostly) classic literature blog".  Like the blogger, I too love to read but went through a period when I stopped reading as voraciously as I did when I was younger.  My mother was quite fond of reading classic literature, and I have vivid memories of her seated on the sofa with the cumbersome Russian novel War and Peace in her lap and her Japanese/English dictionary close by (she was born in Korea when it was occupied by the Japanese, and therefore spoke Japanese fluently), the latter a necessity because she would often have to look up and translate an unfamiliar English word to understand the text.  She could only get through a few pages a day, and it took quite a long time, but she did eventually finish the book, only to move on to yet another lengthy classic and start again.  Her desire to read the classics was that strong, and while I do not have her will power I did gain my love of reading, especially the classics, from observing her.

However, somewhere in my mid-thirties I drifted away from reading anything but the most undemanding novels, mostly cozy mysteries.  I still love reading mysteries, but recently felt the need to revisit the classics, and the Tea and Ink Society 2022 reading challenge seemed like the perfect way to get back into the habit.  Each month a different category is recommended - January featured classic books being made into a movie, and for February it is a novel by one of the three Brontë sisters.

In January I kept it simple by rereading an old Agatha Christie mystery called Why Didn't They Ask Evans?, which I had read decades ago but thoroughly enjoyed reading again (reading this book reminded me why I love mystery novels so much!).  Apparently this story is being made into a three-part TV series for BritBox by actor and now director Hugh Laurie, and I will be interested to see how this series turns out.  I found the novel free online here, and while there are a few editing issues it was quite easy to read.

For February I just finished reading the novel Agnes Grey by the least known of the Brontë sisters, Anne Brontë (read it free online here - it is well edited though in a rather small font).  This novel I also read decades ago, and it was a pleasure to read it again.  While not as well known or as well written as her sisters' more famous novels, Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, it was quite absorbing to read about the observations of a young governess concerning the lifestyles and attitudes of the wealthy upper class families who hired her.  (Mild spoiler alert - this novel does have a happy ending, which I prefer and which is why I am not as fond of the admittedly better written Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.)

The challenge for March is to read an unfinished novel by a classic author.  Recommended titles include The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens, Sanditon by Jane Austen, and Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell.  I managed to find an unfinished novel by Arthur Conan Doyle, The Narrative of John Smith, written when he was in his early twenties and actually sent to a publisher, but unfortunately lost in the mail and never recovered.  Conan Doyle rewrote it from memory but never completed it, but it was finally published relatively recently in its unfinished form.  I did read the Dickens novel long ago, but not the others, so I may read all three if I have the time (all four are readily available to read free online, and I have provided the links with each title).  I find it can be very frustrating to read an unfinished work, however, because I really do look forward to some definite conclusion, so this will be a test of my patience and tolerance, to say the least!

So far all of the classic novels I have mentioned are by English authors, but this will change later in the year when categories will include African-American, pre-Medieval, and French novelists.  I fully intend to finish this challenge, and to help hold myself to this goal I will give periodic updates on my progress here.  If you too are an avid reader, you may wish to join the challenge as well.  If so, happy reading to you!

Wish List Wednesdays: Koala Scarf by Un Poco

This lovely Koala Scarf ($195) by Un Poco was featured recently on one of my favorite blogs, The Vivienne Files, and I have to say I am quite smitten.  The 90 centimeter (about 35 inches) square scarf is 100% silk twill with hand-rolled edges.  In addition to the koala several other Australian animals are featured, including an echidna, emu, kangaroo, and cockatoo.  Best of all, this scarf features many hues in my color palette, including olive, rust, denim blue, and cream.  I have already hinted to my husband that it would be the perfect Valentine's Day gift - I hope he takes the hint, but if not I will just need to order it for myself!