Now 100% Clam Free! Seriously, though, this is a soup that my friend Lindsay would describe as “a la Trogdor“, meaning: using big carefree chops of big easy cheap veggies that practically makes itself. In the interests of full disclosure I must tell you that this soup was made using all the shortcuts below. In the past I have been the person making my own bread and growing my own spinach and creating my own herb blends and I’ve provided options for those of you who wish to go the DIY route; God bless you.

A bunch of filtered water [10 cups or so, depending on the size of your soup pot]

5 russet potatoes, chopped into 1/2″ dice

1 carrot, as above

1 stalk celery, as above

1 shallot, in 1/4″ dice

1 medium leek, rinsed thoroughly, in 1/4″ dice {NOTE: The best way to prepare leeks, which will keep them un-gritty and also give them some of their own steaming liquid to make them tender, is as follows: Take a separate large bowl or deep measuring cup, and chop or prepare the leek as the recipe demands. The deep green ends of the leek are probably a bit leathery, so you can discard them. The best bits are the light green bits and the white bits. But I digress. Put the bits you’ve cut up into the bowl or cup and fill with water, and swish around, and break up the embedded hunks of leek until the grit starts sinking to the bottom of the water-filled bowl…and then walk away. Give them a swish and break-up when you walk by every couple of minutes but for the most part leave them alone. The reason this works is partly because of how leeks are grown [shored up with dirt as they become larger], and it will also create a “deglazing” effect when you put them in your soup. See below.}

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 package fresh spinach, sliced thinly OR a package of frozen chopped spinach

3 cobs’ worth of sweet corn kernels OR one small bag of frozen corn

3 cups of vegetable stock OR one tetrapack of vegetable stock

3 cubes of bouillon or your choice of equivalent [e.g. more stock]

4 or 5 squirts of Braggs’ [OR some soy sauce; not an ideal substitute so just try a tsp and then add to taste]

Herbs of various types: I used 1/2 tsp each of: dried dill, oregano, tarragon, basil and parsley, and a bit of chopped fresh cilantro because that’s what was sitting in the fridge

4 tbsp olive oil

OPTIONAL: 1/4 cup organic milk OR milk substitute [soy or cashew cream best, almond or rice will probably work but not optimal]

4 tbsp all-purpose flour

4 tbsp filtered water

1 tbsp butter or butter substitute [I used Earth Balance]

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

In a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, garlic and shallot. Add dried herbs and salt and pepper to taste [e.g. a couple of shakes]. Stir to cover and saute for 5 minutes or until shallot is translucent. Add leeks [don't worry about the water that comes along with them]. Increase heat to medium high and stir to wilt leeks, approx. 3 minutes. When it takes a couple of seconds for the liquid to cover the bottom of the pot when you scrape the veggies away with a wooden spoon, add the potatoes and corn. Salt and pepper the potatoes and stir. Saute all vegetables for a couple of minutes or until the potatoes JUST start to adhere to the pot bottom, then add: stock, water to fill the pot, the bouillon cubes, and the fresh herbs. Increase heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer until potatoes are tender.

When the potatoes are soft and almost falling apart [15-20 minutes at least] add spinach. Vegans, “low-fat” cats, and those who prefer a thinner soup take note: It will taste great right this second. Let it simmer for a little while, let it rest, and then mangia. Those of you who are looking for a little more *ahem* back end, here we go:

The key to this step is to make sure that the flour is 100% lumpless. In a medium bowl, add water to flour and stir so thoroughly there are no lumps. Add milk. Stir thoroughly. Add slowly to soup, stirring constantly. “Mount” the soup with butter or butter substitute. Keep on low heat and simmer. Let it rest before serving. Serve with multigrain or rye toasts.

Heck yes.

A shockingly easy immune-boosting soup, inspired by the Bo Kong Vegetarian Restaurant. Feel free to replace some types of mushrooms with others if some aren’t available or you have special in-season faves.

In a stock pot, heat:

14 cups water [or as much as it takes to fill your stock pot about 4/5 full]

Add:

1/2 cup ginger, incredibly finely chopped [I did it in the food processor]

1 clove garlic, as above

1 bunch scallions, sliced finely

6 tbsp Bragg’s

3 “beef” bouillon cubes

3 tbsp traditional dark soy sauce

1 tsp sea salt

Mushrooms, lots: about 6 cups total of the following: white button, thinly sliced; oyster, chopped; shiitake, thinly sliced; enoki, separated into “noodlish” strands

4 leaves Thai basil, chiffonaded [sp.?]

2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

2 tbsp vegetable or canola oil

Bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer. This is a good time to taste the broth and add more herbs or Bragg’s or whatever is required. Also add:

Half a package of rice vermicelli, broken up into reasonably soup-length bits of 2″ or so

Simmer for about 10 minutes, so that the mushrooms release their contribution to the broth and the vermicelli is fully cooked. Add:

1 package [about 1/2 cup] pea shoots, cut into 1″ pieces

4 cups baby bok choy or sui choy, sliced

IF AVAILABLE: 1 package watercress, chopped into 1″ pieces.

Add, simmer very briefly, then take off heat and let the greens just wilt.

I met a photographer selling calendars in the Yaletown Choices yesterday, and we had a great chat. I am now the proud owner of one of his calendars promoting Farm Folk/City Folk, with beautiful lush shots of local produce, and [the best part for a glutton like myself] recipes for local, seasonal items for each month. That’s RAD.

Eat to live, live to eat.

I’m so pleased, for primarily selfish reasons, that there are so many local and organic food producers out there raising awareness of these magnificent foodstuffs. Selfish because I like to eat them; selfish because they are beautiful. I know there have been [what were intended to be] scathing indictments of the whole organic food trend but I don’t see how you can get down on local organic food; it’s like every radish and white cucumber is a little prayer of thanks. “Wow, we really ARE meant to live as humans and enjoy ourselves and drum our fingers on our swollen arugula-pesto filled tummies! Thanks Comox Valley! Thanks Okanagan! Thanks Fraser Valley and UBC Endowment Gardens!”

One Wednesday this summer Christine and I had an excellent brunch at Seb’s and then ended up wandering around East Van [do NOT try this at home, unless, uh, you live in East Van in which case this is home]. We dawdled through the Broadway/Fraser region until we were inexorably drawn to the community garden there [since when you're dawdling you tend to go downhill]. We were so clearly enamoured with the place that a plot-owner had mercy on us and saddled us with some infant-sized zucchini, some kale [my favourite!], and various herbs. I used my bounty to make a simple summer linguine that night by wilting the kale and tossing it with garlic and some heirloom yellow cherry tomatoes that we grow on our deck. The romance of eating foods grown so close to our own door was indescribable, and massive amounts were consumed by both M and I, who were stoked [albeit sluggish] thereafter.

C went home to drop off her ginormous zucchini on her counter, and I took her class that afternoon; later I found out her husband had sent her the following text message:

do we have any zucchini?

I was prepared to believe in the synchronicity of the universe, that he had wanted zucchini and was therefore given it, but he was just being funny due to the MASSIVE vegetable he’d found on his counter. It’s hard not to laugh about giant zucchini. They’re just absurd and great.

Brian, the photographer, spoke of Tibet and India as being his “soul home” which I thought was very beautiful and also made me kind of sad. It’s hard to not live in your soul home although I know it happens all the time. His vision of his soul home and of these gorgeous gardens are his offering, and they are as abundant as the kale and the fennel pictured in the calendar. I can almost taste the many great dinners that will come from this…hm, I’m kind of hungry all of a sudden…