CO-Blog? Update

This post is going to be a little bit more "chatty". Sorry if you aren't into that sort of thing..I'm not usually either. It really all depends on my mood.

But how is everyone doing with this self isolation/social distancing?

What the heck 2020?!

It has really disrupted my normal food shop.
I'm more or less a homebody, so I'm not complaining too much about having to stay inside more.
I do realize now, though, how often we come and go as we please.
I also took for granted how free we were to spend on what we wanted and could take what we would like to stock up on. Also how available everything was.

Limiting our quantities - I'm totally okay with. I totally get it. It just makes me realize how much we actually buy normally.

I can say we have more than enough food now.
I've been watching a lot of videos on YouTube where people meal prep or stock their pantries and freezers. I just find it fascinating. Not many of them are vegan or plant based meals, but I still watch for inspiration. I could easily veganize recipes. No problem.

I wish there were more vegan ones though.
In a time like this, it would be very appreciated.
I could do them myself, but I'm not that talented with a camera and making videos.

But after all of this I really can say that I'd like to organize my pantry more and maybe create a basement type of stock/pantry.

IP Corn Chowder

I won't bore you with my excitement, but I will say that I finally have had a successful
Instant Pot meal!

Short story shorter, I tried chili once and got the burn message twice.
Only stuck to making rice in it until I decided to make this corn chowder.

It is a mash up of a couple of recipes on YouTube - most of the inspiration coming from High Carb Hannah.

Here is my short blurb before I tell you the ingredients...

Prior to this virus I decided to do more cooking from my pantry.
I took inventory of everything I had on hand before going shopping.
Then I studied my lists and searched a few recipes using up corn (I had loads of it frozen and canned).

That is where this recipe came up.

I also decided to make homemade tortillas. That was probably my favorite part. I love carbs.

*Note that I have a 6 qt Instant pot. Amounts used are probably best in the 6 qt or larger. I'm not sure about the smaller ones.

*Note again: When I say "regular can" I mean the normal, what 14-15 oz can? I quickly wrote this all down as I was making it up and I didn't write down sizes. I also didn't take any other photos aside from the end result because I wasn't sure how it would turn out. Sorry.

What you'll need:

• 6 small potatoes, diced (peeled or unpeeled - I used russets)
• 1 regular can of fire roasted corn
• 1 regular can of corn (reserved for the end)
• 1 regular can Salsa ready tomatoes
• 1 cup frozen onions, diced (you can use fresh if you have it - just a quick little budget/time hack)
• 12 oz bag of frozen corn
• 1 cup of dried red lentils, rinsed
• 3 tsp Thai Red curry paste, adjust to your taste
• 3 to 3 1/2 cups veggie broth
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 can of coconut milk, I used full fat

Instructions:

1. In your Instant Pot add in your diced potatoes, diced onion, 1 can of corn, bag of frozen corn, lentils, curry paste, spices, coconut milk and broth. 
2. Stir.
3. Add in the can of tomatoes on top. DO NOT STIR (I'm just not very confident yet lol).
4. Hit Manual or Pressure button for 8 minutes on high pressure.
5. Natural release for 5 minutes then quick release.
6. Blend if you'd like. I did and then added in the last can of corn for texture (honestly I feel I blended too much). If you don't care to blend then feel free to add all of the corn prior to cooking. It really doesn't take long to heat up if you add it at the end.
7. Adjust spices at the end - like salt and pepper.

If you don't have an Instant Pot, you can just add everything into a large pot, simmer until the potatoes are cooked and either blend or serve with tortillas or rice.

- theⓋegan Hooker