Southwestern Black Bean and Corn Chowder

It's rainy in Chicago today.  The temperature is hovering in the mid to upper 30's and it's been raining for a few hours now.  Late tonight, the rain is supposed to turn to freezing rain and then to snow with a 2" to 4" dusting.  :::smile:::   Today is one of three days with temperatures in the 30's sandwiched in between temperatures in the teens and 20's to Monday when our high is supposed to be 9ºF.  That makes it officially soup, stew, and chili season.  

Today, I finally made a recipe out of Vegan on the Cheap.  I bought the book a few weeks ago, but put it aside in the furor of making Thanksgiving foods.  I sat down to review the recipes and make a list of what I wanted to make.  Southwestern Black Bean and Corn Chowder, on page 68, topped my list.  Since I had all of the ingredients in the house, I decided to make it.

The chowder has onion, garlic, corn, black beans, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, green chilies, fire roasted tomatoes, and vegetable broth in it.  It was easy to assemble and simmers for about 35 to 40 minutes.  I didn't have fire roasted tomatoes, so I used a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies and then added a can of fire-roasted green chilies.  Mine has a little heat, but not too much.  I really enjoyed it.

After dishing up a bowl, I added a handful of crushed tortilla chips, a tablespoon of Tofutti Sour Cream, and a splash of taco sauce.  It was quite delicious.  The recipe suggests adding chopped avocado.  I was being lazy and didn't want to peel and chop and avocado, but I will do that for the leftovers as I think it would be absolutely delicious with that addition.

I strongly recommend this chowder.  In fact, I recommend the cookbook as it has quite a few recipes in it that I will be making.  The great thing is that the recipes use everyday pantry items.  I could have made many of them today without having to go to the grocery store.  Try the chowder!  I think you'll like it. :)