Vegetable Chowder

I’ve got another Martha Stewart soup for you, and this one is another crowd-pleaser that also goes in the freezer. How’s that for a hip rhyme? This chowder is so hearty that you might not even realize it’s vegetarian. It’s very similar to hodge podge, so feel free to accompany it with Nova Scotia beer bread while you’re at it.

Start with your chopping. Dice 2 red bell peppers and 1 large onion and grab 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme.

Chuck that into a large saucepan with 3 tablespoons butter and cook on medium-high until the vegetables are softened, about five minutes.

This picture is blurry because I was too excited about chowder to stay still.

While that’s on the go, peel and chop up about 4 medium baking potatoes. Those go in the pot, too, as well as 3 cups milk and 4-5 cups water.

Bring that all to a boil and then reduce it to a simmer for about 8 minutes, until the potatoes are almost tender.

Then you will want to chuck in 4 cups corn. I used the frozen stuff, but feel free to use fresh if it’s available. Simmer that for another 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon (to drain off excess liquid), remove 3 cups’ worth of soup solids.

Purée those. Pause to remove bits of puréed vegetables from your face and spectacles.

Chuck that goo back in the pot and add 6 cups green beans (again, I used frozen ones, but if you’re using fresh, cut them into 1″ pieces).

Simmer again until the beans are tender, about 5 minutes, and serve.

When you’re freezing stuff like this, it helps if you portion it out into the containers you’re using one ladleful at a time, distributed equally among the containers. This means that your containers will get equal amounts of veggies and broth, and you won’t be left with one container holding mostly vegetables and your last container holding mostly broth.