Opera Singer in the Kitchen

Artistry in Food, Music, and Life

Shitake Mushroom and Potato Chowder with Sweet Cornbread

by 14 Comments

20110320_32



I forgot to tell you all! We’re heading to New York this weekend! Ryan conducts the Holland Chorale out in Holland, MI and back in 2009 we were asked if we’d like to perform with several choirs at Carnegie Hall. Our choir will have a solo concert and then we will join up with several choirs and perform Haydn’s “Paukenmesse.” Here is a flyer from one of our most recent concerts.


This is what our choir will look like on stage:




If you find yourself in New York this weekend, please take some time to purchase some tickets to come out and hear us! You can find information on the concert program at MidAmerica’s website and you can get ticket information HERE. We will be performing on Monday, March 28th at 8pm. Hope you can make it!


On a different note, I decided to leave you with a nice soup recipe. I have been wanting chowder for a long time but I had not quite decided the exact recipe.


I have not been cooking alot because I either lose my appetite or I get extremely nauseous. I took a chance this past Sunday and decided to make a pot of chowder with shitake mushrooms, leeks, and potatoes. It was very savory and the mushrooms almost reminded me of clams.


This soup is really quick and little hassle. I accompanied it with a sweet cornbread that was perfect! Ryan kept going back for second helpings on both! If it has been rainy, cold, and dreary like it has been here, this soup is perfect for an evening meal. It is thick and hearty and very filling.

I want to add a little note here: I have been using Crisco’s pure virgin olive oil especially for this soup. It added such a deep flavor when cooked with the leeks and potatoes. I had a chance, as part of the Tastemaker program, through Foodbuzz to try 3 of Crisco’s olive oils. Their oils do not disappoint!

20110320_29


Shitake Mushroom and Potato Chowder

serves 4 to 6

3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ cups fresh shitake mushrooms, chopped
2 leeks, dark green tops removed (thinly slice leeks)
2 cups yellow potatoes, diced ¼-inch cubes
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1 vegan bouillon cube (Rapunzel bouillon cube with sea salt and seasonings)
2 cups water
4 cups soy milk
2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.

Chop leeks, mushrooms, and potatoes. Add leeks, mushrooms and garlic into olive oil and fry for 5-7 minutes. Add the potatoes and continue to cook for another 7 minutes. Add the bouillon cube.

Add the water and soy milk to the pot, reserving 5 Tablespoons of it to mix with the arrowroot powder. Add the Old Bay seasoning and bring the soup to a hard boil for 5 to 7 minutes, the reduce to medium heat.

Dissolve the 2 Tablespoons of arrowroot powder with 5 Tablespoons of soy milk. Add the mixture into the soup and continue cooking the soup for 20 minutes.

Serve with cornbread.

Grandmother’s Buttermilk Cornbread

adapted from All Recipes

1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine
2/3 cup vegan white sugar
Egg replacer worth 2 eggs (2 Tbsp flax meal + 6 Tbsp water)
1 cup buttermilk (1 cup So Delicious unsweetened milk + 1 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8-inch square pan.

Melt margarine in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add flax “eggs” and beat until well blended. Combine “buttermilk” with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Don’t forget! You have until tomorrow to enter in the LARABAR giveaway. You have a chance to win 1 of 5 boxes (with 16 bars) of their retired bar. Check it out now!

About Noelle

I’m an opera singer, full-time mom, pharmacy technician, food and mom blogger, recipe developer, and wife to a super talented choral director living in the awesome outskirts of Philly.