I’m so excited about this soup! Not just because it’s delicious but because it marks the beginning of fall cooking in my home. Hello yummy homemade soups and stews and chili and pot pies and and and…..oh how I love cold weather cooking!!!

Serves 6-8

• 1 large cooking onion
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 cobs of corn, corn removed from cob
• 2 large red potato, chopped into small bite sized pieces
• 1 tbsp ginger, grated
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
• 1 stalk of lemongrass, minced or grated
• 1 litre of low sodium veg broth
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 lime, juiced
• safflower oil for frying
• salt and pepper to taste
• pickled jalapeño for topping
• avocado for topping

In a large pot over med-high heat, add the safflower oil. Let it heat for a minute then add the onions. Sauté for about 5 minutes, until tender and beginning to brown. Add the garlic, corn and potato. Cook stirring frequently for about 10 minutes or until the potato is tender. Add the ginger, jalapeño and lemongrass. Cook for 4-5 minutes. Add the broth. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes. Add the coconut milk and cilantro. Bring back to a boil then remove from heat. Using an immersion blender give the chowder a few good pulses. Add the lime juice and season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with pickled jalapeño and some diced avocado. Enjoy!

*Want to mix it up a bit? Try adding any of the following to your chowder-

• shredded chicken
• diced tomato, for topping
• swap out the potato for cauliflower
• sriracha instead of the pickled jalapeño

Recipe adapted from IT’S ALL GOOD

This week Poppy and I are staying with Granny and Grandad at a beautiful cottage they rented on Baptiste lake near Bancroft. We are loving every second of it. Since we were lucky enough to have been invited to join them for this week I thought it was only right that I offer to make at least a few of the meals. I decided on this dish for two reasons, number one being that I was craving a vegetarian dish, my mom cooks with meat a lot more than I am used to…not that there is anything wrong with that. I love my mom’s cooking. Number two being that I brought with me two of my newest cookbooks, The Vibrant Table and IT’S ALL GOOD. This recipe was inspired from it’s all good.

Serves 4

• 2 cups dark green lentils, drained and rinsed
• 1 heaping tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 heaping tbsp whole grain mustard
• juice of 1 medium lemon
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup safflower oil
• coarse sea salt ( any salt will do )
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 2 large field tomatoes, diced or 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• handful of radishes, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup parsley, chopped

In a medium bowl whisk together the mustards, lemon juice, vinegar, oil and salt. Add the remaining ingredients and toss until evenly coated. Set aside on the kitchen counter for a min of 30 minutes.

To serve: You can eat this alone or if you want it to be a more substantial meal serve over mixed greens and top with a poached egg and a side of country bread. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from BEARD & BONNET

• 1 package GF rice noodles
• 8 cups sodium free vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup Tamari GF soy sauce
• 2  Tbsp grated or minced ginger
• 4 1/2 cups assorted veg, I used shredded carrot, cabbage, sugar snap peas, crimini mushrooms, thin strips of red pepper, broccoli flouretts, bean sprouts and baby bok choi
• 1/2 cup left over water from cooking the noodles

Garnish:

• fresh chopped cilantro
• sesame oil
• sesame seeds
• hard boiled egg
• sriracha hot sauce

In a med sized pot add the veg broth, soy sauce and ginger. Stir. Over med/high heat let the flavours come together. In a separate pot cook the noodles according to package ( do not over cook ). While the pasta is cooking add the veg to the broth, allow to cook for about 2 min. Once the pasta is finished cooking reserve 1/2 cup of the starchy water then drain the noodles and rinse with cold water. Set aside. Add the starchy water to the veg and broth let cook for another min then remove from heat.

To serve. Divide the noodles into bowls. Drizzle with a little sesame oil now ladle on the broth and veg. Top with a sliced hardboiled egg some sesame seeds, fresh cilantro and a couple dashes of hot sauce. Enjoy!!

• serves: 4
• 2tbsp Earth Balance butter, room temperature ( you can use regular butter if you prefer )
• 1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce- feel free to use as much or as little as you like.
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 bunch asparagus – I used one bunch but wish I had used two.
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 med vine tomatoes, diced
• 4 eggs
• more Tabasco sauce to taste

First make the Tabasco butter. Whip the butter until it is light and creamy. Add the Tabasco sauce, lemon juice and salt, whip some more. If you want a bit more kick add more hot sauce.

To cook the asparagus, first snap the bottoms off of the spears. Brush with a little oil ( canola or olive ) and fry for a few minutes turning regularly until it begins to soften and brown a bit, I used a Skillet. Once the asparagus has cooked remove from skillet or pan. Set aside.

In the same pan quickly fry up the white kidney beans in a little oil, salt and pepper until slightly browned. Remove from heat. Set aside.

Cook quinoa according to package. Once quinoa has cooked, mix with Tabasco, lemon butter. Serve with asparagus on the side or chopped up and mixed with the quinoa. Add some kidney beans and freshly chopped tomato. Top it off with a poached egg and a little more Tabasco. Enjoy!

This also tastes great with a little lemon zest sprinkled on top or some freshly shaved parmesan.

*Recipe adapted from http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/tabasco-asparagus-quinoa-recipe.html