by Susan Fox
I know it sounds odd to say meatless clam chowder because isn't clam chowder meatless anyway? It's not. Most clam chowder recipes call for bacon and if you start with a soup stock, it's got meat juice in it. That's a "no no" on Good Friday if you are Roman Catholic, and a "no no" all the time if you are vegetarian. So here's a great vegetable stock and a delicious, healthy clam chowder. If you don't grow your own herbs, Watkins spices really make a big difference in the flavor. I've tried it myself with Watkins and without Watkins, and I can attest to the flavor difference. Ingredients do matter.

I make my stock in large quantities and freeze the rest. So not all of this is needed.
Chop one bunch of celery, one bunch of bok choy (this really makes the best soup ever, and use the whole thing, leaves and stalks), 4-5 carrots, 3 big onions, 15-20 cloves of garlic, 1 turnip, 2 parsnips. Put in a huge soup pot, cover generously with water. I use a 16-quart soup pot. Turn on the heat. Add 1 teaspoon Watkins Parsley, 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon Watkins thyme, 1 teaspoon of Watkins Orange Peel. Add salt, Watkins Granulated Black Pepper and/or Watkins Cayenne to taste. Also cut a couple of wedges of fresh lemon and throw them in the pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer for two hours. Let cool, and strain the broth through a fine sieve, pressing the solids to extract the liquid.

Use 10 to 15 cups of the vegetable broth in this recipe. It will not make a thick clam chowder, it will be healthy, buttery and milky, but not thick. However, the more soup stock, the more thiner the soup, so start with 10 cups and see what you think.

Boil three or four big diced red potatoes in the rich vegetable broth. I don't peel them, but I do cut out the eyes because I read they contain a poison. You can put more potatoes in if you want. I try to use less because I am diabetic and on a diet. I get a big can of Chopped Sea Clams at Costco with a net weight of 3 pounds 3 oz. It's mostly liquid. I separate the liquid and the clams, and at this point I mix the clam juice with two tablespoons of flour. You can add more flour if you want a thicker soup, but I am always aiming for a low carb option. It's possible to use none. Pour all the clam juice into the vegetable stock. But not the clams! Chop or thinly slice three stocks of celery and put them in the soup.

Now I am going to create a Clam Chowder Herb Blend. This stuff makes the soup incredible. Blend 4 tsps. Watkins Oregano, 4 tsps Watkins Parsley, 2 tsps Watkins Marjoram, 2 tsps Watkins Dill, 4 tsps. Watkins Thyme, 4 tsps. Watkins Basil, 1 tsp. Watkins Sage, 4 tsps Watkins Rosemary, 2 tsps. tarragon and 1 tablespoon of flour. Crush in a mortar or blend in a blender. Store in a resealable plastic bag to refrigerate.

Thinly slice two or three large onions or chop if you don't want to notice the onion slices. Chop 10-15 cloves. Put both in a heavy-bottomed frying pan, and saute in butter (or if you are allergic to butter, use olive oil or ghee (clarified butter). If you use ghee, you'll need to add more salt at the end. Use enough so the onions don't burn. Add three teaspoons of the Clam Chowder Herb Blend. Do it over low heat. Do not allow it to brown. Can you pierce the diced potatoes with a fork now? If so, throw the sauteed onions into the boiling soup pot. Add either whole milk, half and half or cream to the soup until it is creamy. If you are lactose intolerant, use lactose free whole milk. If you think it's too thin add more flour, but mix it carefully in some broth first or you'll have clumps of flour. Keep it hot, but don't boil once you put the milk in. The cream will make it thicker and creamier, and will have less sugar than whole milk if you are diabetic. Add the clams. Simmer about 20 minutes. Add salt to taste. I sometimes add a couple of palmfuls depending on how much it needs. Add pepper to taste. Add cayenne pepper if you want it spicier. Add paparika to taste. Enjoy with corn bread or crackers. Or just eat with salad if you are watching your carbs like me!

Cinnamon French Toast for Diabetics

My husband and I had a craving this Sunday morning for French Toast, so I tried this recipe, which is basically my own. It was luscious with Bonne Maman Peach Preserves. But the bread and the sweetener made it better for diabetics.
4 slices Milton's Whole Grain Bread
3 eggs
3/4 cup whole milk (less fat means more sugar, so if you are diabetic always chose the most fat)
2 tablespoons of Organic Raw Blue Agave Nectar (a low glycemic organic sweetener)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Watkins Cinnamon (Watkins award-winning high-oil Korintje cassia cinnamon is about twice as flavorful as the Ceylon variety, and is the best quality cinnamon available anywhere. It is also the only kind that stabilizes blood sugar. Commercial brands containing the Ceylon variety don't do this.)
3/4 teaspoon Watkins Original Double Strength Vanilla.
Beat salt, eggs, milk, agave nectar, cinnamon, vanilla until fluffy. Soak the bread in this mixture. I like to really soak it, so the bread almost falls apart. Heat butter in a no stick omelet pan on high heat and cook each slice until it's just brown. Butter and serve with sugar-free syrup or preserves.
Susan Fox

Susan Fox's Blue Ribbon Chili

Spicy and Delicious: Make it as hot or as bland as you want. 2 lbs. lean ground beef 2 tsp Watkins Meat Magic 2 tsp. red wine Olive Oil 1 lb buffalo ground beef (gives it extra flavor & protein, very healthy for growing children) 1 lb ground beef 2-3 big onions sliced thin 1 eggplant chopped 2 zucchini chopped 4 chopped fresh tomatoes One ball of organic fresh garlic about 20 cloves chopped, or if you can't get organic, it's better to use Watkins Garlic Granules as it's more flavorful than regular fresh garlic. 1 or more tsp of Watkins Calypso Hot Pepper Sauce to taste. 6 oz (half bottle) Watkins Tropical Salsa 2 cans (14.5 oz each) of S&W Ready Cut Diced Tomatoes 2-3 cans red kidney beans 1 can (6 oz.) Tomato Paste 5 tbsp. Watkins Chili Seasoning (more or less to taste) 1 tsp Watkins Rosemary (more to taste) 1 tbsp. more or less to taste of Watkins Cumin 1 tbsp of Watkins Chili Powder if you want a hotter taste. It's optional if you are using the Watkins Chili Seasoning. About 20 fresh mushrooms sliced 1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar to taste. If you don't like it sweet, use less or none. Salt & pepper to taste. In a frying pan, brown the beef and buffalo. Before you begin browning it, put in about 2 teaspoons of Watkins Meat Magic throughout the meat (Shake Meat Magic thoroughly before using, and don't think more is better. You only need a small amount to bring out the flavor of the meat) and once it starts cooking add about 2 tablespoons of red cooking wine. Set the cooked meat aside. If you used lean hamburger, it is not necessary to drain the fat. Coast a large frying pan with olive oil. Add more as needed to prevent burning. Now add onions, garlic and eggplant. Saute on medium high heat for about 10 minutes or longer. Now add zucchini and fresh tomatoes. This is actually the French vegetable recipe Ratatouie which is the basis of all my tomato/onion sauces. Saute uncovered until the flavors are mingled, about 10-15 minutes. Put the Ratatouie and the meat into a large soup pot, and turn on medium initially until it starts boiling. Now saute the mushroom in olive oil in the same pan you used to cook the meat or the vegetables. Meanwhile add the tomato paste, Calypso Sauce, canned tomatoes, kidney beans, Rosemary Cumin, Chili Seasoning, Chili Powder and Tropical Salsa to the sup pot. Also throw in a palm of salt and some pepper to taste. I use Watkins Purest Granulated Black Pepper or I will grind in some Watkins Garlic Peppercorn Blend. Add the cooked mushrooms. Stir. On the stovetop bring to a boil and simmer on lower heat for one hour. Add the brown sugar, salt and pepper to taste. At this point if it's not hot enough for you add more chili powder and calypso. You probably will need more salt, and you can add more brown sugar to taste. Cook another 10-15 minutes. For garnish, serve with diced onions, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, Watkins Red Pepper Flakes or Watkins Calypso Hot Pepper Sauce. It's also great served with Watkins Good Tastings Bread made with beer. The bread will make it a complete meal.