The Tao of Food

"Umbrella, light, landscape, sky–
There is no language of the holy.
The sacred lies in the ordinary."









Edamame Corn Chowder




One of the beauties of edamame is that it is an easy vegetable to showcase in a recipe.  Edamame are soy beans shucked out of their pods before they reach full maturity, and because of this they maintain

a kind of fresh, plump crunchiness full of taste that few other green vegetables can boast.  Put into virtually any dish – unless you severely overcook them – they stand out visually and flavorfully.  Edamame history goes back far, primarily in Asian culture, but for Americans the little green seeds became popular in and around the time (1980's) that the mini-series Shogun arrived on TV.  A surge in Asian food interest led edamame to being served alongside beer in the place of peanuts; folks liked it without paying much attention, and had helped to establish edamame as a snack food, only to later become a hip organic aisle selection in this century.  The corn chowder asks for edamame along with kernel corn, a can of

cream style corn, frozen southern style diced hash browns, some bacon and onions.  As I was walking around the grocery store, I found a new package of lactose free sausage meatballs, so substituted these wonderful little pre-prepared frozen balls for the bacon; substituted four cups of milk with Lactaid.  I've found that any recipe including vegetables and milk need a considerable amount of salt, or seasoning in general, to enliven then final mixture.  Up against this mixture, both the meatballs and edamame stand out as substance and flavor.  Pretzel bread balls positioned around the bowl adds starchy protein and

pinches of salt.  There are ten ingredients in this recipe altogether, but it is like most soup creations that ask for a basic base (milk and onions) and garnish (corn, edamame, meat).  The final product is tummy warming, evenly seasoned, healthy, and texturally thick with a lot of possibilities per spoonful.