Dairy-Free Clam and Corn Chowder

There's something in the air. Not a chill, exactly (though it has gotten a little cooler, which I love). No, there's a sweet, dank aroma that's arrived. I noticed it when we took the dog out for a walk in the woods. Nature telling us that we're approaching the end of summer. As soon as it hit me, I immediately craved soup and, so, I made a pot of clam chowder. It's not your typical clam chowder and I know there are purists out there who might make a fuss about this being too fancy. But it really isn't. The major difference is that I used coconut milk instead of cream. I actually prefer it this way. It's rich in flavor, but doesn't feel heavy. Also, there's no bacon in it. Now, I have nothing against bacon and I totally see why folks love it so much, but I am baffled as to why every chowder recipe contains some. Let's ask ourselves... Does it really need it? In my opinion, it doesn't (note the smoked paprika, which provides a hint of that bacony flavor).

The funny thing is that I made this chowder last week and again over the weekend. On the Cape, my brother-in-law will often go out clamming in the morning. When he does, he'll return with buckets of beautiful, fresh, briny clams (sometimes there are snails and mussels thrown into the mix). Last Sunday, I suggested that I make a batch of this soup for his birthday dinner that evening, which he was totally on board with. So, clam chowder twice in one week. Not bad at all. 

Dairy-Free Clam and Corn Chowder

Note
To cut down on the cooking time, I've suggested using canned clams instead of preparing fresh clams, which is what I initially did when I made this dish. 

Yield
4-6 servings

Ingredients
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 celery stalks, sliced into thick 1/4 inch thick pieces
3 ears corn kernels
Salt
Black pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 10 oz cans chopped clams, in clam juice
1 15 oz can full-fat coconut milk
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Fresh dill

Directions
In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped yellow onion and cook for 30 seconds. Add the sweet potato and celery. Season with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the corn kernels, chopped clams, clam juice and coconut milk and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the sweet potato is cooked. Season with salt, to taste. Before serving, stir in lime juice. Ladle soup into bowls and top with fresh dill and freshly ground black pepper

Polenta Pizza with Heirloom Tomatoes and Summer Squash (Featuring Parrano Cheese)

This post is sponsored by Parrano Cheese. Thank you for supporting the brands that make A Thought For Food possible.

I'm a bread lover. A pasta lover. A bagel lover. A pizza lover. If it's carbs, I dig it. Which may be why I don't keep a lot of these things around the house, because I have very little self-control. Once in a while, I'll pick up a loaf of bread. We eat pasta maybe once every two weeks. And I leave my bagel and pizza consumption for trips down to New Jersey. By omitting them from our diet (or eating them only occasionally), it forces me to approach my meals creatively.

Which brings me to this pizza. I had initially thought about a more traditional preparation, but decided to brainstorm some alternatives. This was my first attempt at making a polenta crust and I have to say that I'm kind of hooked. No, it's not pizza pizza. But it does hold up surprisingly well and it is incredibly satisfying. The Parrano cheese not only seasons the crust, but it helps it hold its form. It also worked beautifully on top of the pizza, melting to perfection. And I loved how the nutty notes remain pronounced even after it’s baked. I kept the rest of the toppings fairly basic to highlight the seasonal ingredients, especially those heirloom tomatoes, from our most recent CSA delivery (I just can’t get enough of those colors).

To see where you can get your hands on some Parrano (so you can make this pizza), check out their store locator. 

Polenta Pizza with Heirloom Tomatoes and Summer Squash

Yield
2 pizzas (serves 6-8)

Ingredients
3 cups water
1 cup corn grits/polenta
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parrano cheese
1.5 tablespoons olive oil

1-2 (depending on size) heirloom tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
1 small zucchini or yellow squash, sliced into thin rounds
1 cup grated Parrano cheese
6 fresh basil leaves
Salt
Black pepper
 

Directions
In a pot, bring water to a boil. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano to water. Stir in polenta and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and cover for 3 minutes. Transfer cooked polenta to mixing bowl. Let cool for five minutes. Mix in 1/2 cup grated Parrano cheese.

Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil onto a large rimmed baking sheet. Spoon cheesy polenta onto baking sheet and spread into 10" round with a thickness of about a 1/2 inch. Cover baking sheet with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator. Let chill for an hour to let the polenta set. 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Remove baking sheet from the fridge. Using a spoon, spread 1 teaspoon olive oil over the top of the polenta crust. Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes, or until it begins to crisp around the edges. Remove from oven and top with sliced tomato and squash. Sprinkle 1 cup of Parrano cheese over the pizza. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.  Bake for another 10-12 minutes or until the cheese has melted and begins to bubble. Remove from oven and add fresh basil before serving.

Tarragon Tequila Swizzle

We've really struggled with our garden this year, mainly because we've had little rain this summer. I've been religiously watering it every morning. The tomatoes are slowly coming in. I've been picking each cherry tomato off the vine as soon as it ripens, afraid that some critter might get to it before we can enjoy it. This happened a few weeks ago with our first cucumber. We returned home from a couple days away and I went out to water our pots. I was so excited to see something had grown and it looked like the most beautiful cucumber. Upon further inspection, though, I noticed that a big chunk had been taken out. The culprit, most likely a squirrel, also devoured a couple of peppers! So, yeah, I've been keeping a careful eye on things. We have another cuke growing and in a few days it'll be ready for picking. 

The herbs, however, have been doing very well. The parsley has exploded, as has the basil. I love our herb garden, to go outside and pick whatever I might need for dinner. Having access to fresh herbs also comes in handy when I want to spruce up a cocktail. I've surprised Eric with gin and tonics garnished with fresh rosemary (he doesn't quite get what the big deal is, but I think it looks and smells awesome). One of my favorite herbs (and one that I think is underused in cocktails) is tarragon. It holds up in drinks but also adds its own unique flavor (I find that it tastes a lot like vanilla, maybe with a touch of anise/black licorice). The easiest way to incorporate it in a cocktail is by making an infused simple syrup, which I did here for this swizzle. It's not a complicated drink to make, but it does require some crushed ice. It's very light and super sippable... just how a summer cocktail should be. 

This post is a part of the #DrinkTheSummer collaboration organized by Sherrie at With Food + Love. She got a bunch of us together to share original alcoholic and non-alcoholic creations. Heres the full list for everyone to check out: 

BOOZY!
A Little Saffron | Beach Bum’s Rum
A Thought For Food | Tarragon Tequlia Swizzle
Downshiftology | Limoncello Prosecco with Blueberries and Thyme
Heart of a Baker | Green Tea Mint Cooler
Hungry Girl por Vida | Whisky Peach Alexander
The Green Life | Spiced Plum Fig + Kombucha Cocktail
Hummingbird High | Watermelon + Mint Agua Fresca
Floating Kitchen | Peach Sun Tea + Bourbon Cocktail
Beard and Bonnet | Easy Melon Mojitos
EGD | Backyard Peach Sweet Tea
Appeasing a Food Geek | Basil + Black Pepper Gin Sour
Vegetarian Ventures | Garden Tonic Punch
Nosh and Nourish | Mango Margaritas with Chile Lime Salted Rims
Domesticate ME! | Watermelon-Basil Mezcal Margarita
The Foodie Nurse | Husk Cherry Margarita
my name is yeh | Choose Your Own Adventure Bloody Marys
Sevengrams | Cucumber Gin + Chartreuse Cocktail
Wicked Spatula | Coconut Gin + Tonic
Eat Boutique | Sbagliatos + Homemade Sweet Vermouth
Nutritionist in the Kitch | Healthy Muddled Blackberry Piña Coladas
Chocolate + Marrow | Pequito Verdecito
The Solstice Table | Jalapeno Watermelon Cooler
HonestlyYUM | Watermelon Fresh Herbs + Sotol Cocktail
Seasonal Cravings | Strawberry Lime Gin Rickey
Salted Plains | Frozen Honeydew Daiquiris
The Broken Bread | Honeydew-Ginger Apricot Mojitos
Fix Feast Flair | Ginger-Berry Splash Cocktail
Turntable Kitchen | Summer Cooler Cocktails, Two Ways
Foolproof Living | Blueberry Dark Cherry + Calvados Cocktail
Dessert for Two | Salty Melon Slush
The Wood and Spoon | Honey Basil Margaritas
Milly’s Kitchen | Golden Watermelon Ginger Basil + Tequilla

NOT BOOZY!
Heartbeet Kitchen | Salty Watermelon Shrub Elixir
TENDING the TABLE | Raspberry + Fig Hibiscus Cooler
Snixy Kitchen | Lavender Earl Gray Blackberry Ice Cream Floats
The Bojon Gourmet | Vanilla Rooibos Peach Ice Cream Floats
Gratitude and Greens | Hong Kong Style Crushed Watermelon Ice
My Heart Beets | Spiced Pistachio Shake
rooting the sun | Strawberry Fennel Soda
The Modern Proper | Vanilla Plum Shrub
Feed Me Phoebe | Watermelon-Cucumber Kombucha Coolers
Gourmande in the Kitchen | Stone Fruit Thyme Shrub Soda
dolly and oatmeal | Cold-Brewed Shiso + Hibiscus Tea Iced Latte
happy hearted kitchen | Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho with Fennel Orange + Cardamom
I am a Food Blog | Cherry Vanilla Sodas
Tasty Yummies | Fig Vanilla Bean Almond Milk
Let’s talk evergreen | Iced Earl Grey Yuanyang With a Hint of Rose
Kale & Caramel | Emerald Beaut Green Spritzer
Earthy Feast | Watermelon Hibiscus Agua Fresca
Now, Forager | Sparkling Plumcot + Purple Basil Shrubs
The Pig & Quill | Brown Sugar Blueberry Pie Shakes
Well and Full | Peach Bubble Tea
Sweetish Co | The Best Frozen Hot Chocolate
holly & flora | Spiced Pineapple Shrub Sparklers with Black Tea + Coconut
Pure Ella | Fresh Mint Tea

 

Tequila Tarragon Swizzle

Yield
1 drink

Ingredients
2.5 oz tequila
1 oz lime juice
1 oz pineapple juice
1/4 oz tarragon simple syrup (recipe below)
Crushed ice
Angostura bitters

Directions
Add tequila, lime juice, pineapple juice, and tarragon simple syrup to a collins glass. Fill 1/2 way with crushed ice. Immerse a swizzle stick (or a bar spoon, which is what I used) into the glass and, between both hands, rub the stick back and forth for about 15 seconds. Fill the remainder of the glass with crushed ice and swizzle again for 10 seconds. Top ice with approximately six dashes of angostura bitters (or until the top is covered) and then add a straw.

Tarragon Simple Syrup

Yield
1 cup

Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 sprigs tarragon

Directions
Whisk together water and sugar in a saucepan. Set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Add tarragon sprigs and remove the pot from heat. Let tarragon steep for 15 minutes. 

Let the syrup cool completely before using. Can be stored in an airtight container (a jar with a lid works well) for up to 2 weeks.