We’re knee-deep in soup weather these days and I especially like to have a big pot on the stove on Halloween night so that I can spend my time bundling up my little trick-or-treaters after exhausting them with 452 pictures of them in their costumes! (What is it about a mom with a camera on Halloween?!)

This is a rich chowder full of fall vegetables, mostly pureed, but with some extra corn added and fresh spinach wilted in for texture. If you’re making this soup in advance, reserve the spinach leaves and stir them in when you’re heating the soup before serving.

Then, if you decide to go completely over the top and do something like, oh, say, add a SPIDERWEB to the top of the soup before you serve it, I say go for it! (Pipe a swirl of sour cream onto the top and then drag a toothpick through the lines to get this look.)

Halloween Harvest Chowder

Yields 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
3 celery stalks, diced (about 1 cup)
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
6 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
2 small zucchini diced
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
4 bay leaves
2 tablespoons thyme
2 cups frozen corn
4 cups packed spinach leaves

Directions

1. Place the onion, celery, carrots, and 1/2 cup of vegetable stock in a large soup pot and saute over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.

2. Add the zucchini, sweet potatoes, bay leaves, thyme, and the remaining broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

3. Add 1 c. of the corn and cook for 10-15 more minutes. Remove the bay leaves.

4. Puree the soup using immersion blender (or in batches in a blender with a tight fitting lid). After pureeing, add the remaining corn and spinach leaves. Cook for 5 more minutes or until the spinach is wilted. Stir well and serve hot.

I’m always telling people to eat more vegetables,  so I often get asked what they should do to make them more interesting. The fact is, plain frozen broccoli tastes like, well, like plain frozen broccoli and that’s not exactly something anyone wakes up dreaming about!

I think of vegetables as a canvas and to build upon using low calorie ingredients that pack a big punch of flavor and aroma. This dish is a perfect example – sesame oil, ginger, soy sauce and black pepper transform humble snow peas into something really special!

Try this and watch the veggies disappear from everyone’s plates faster than you can defrost that package of frozen broccoli.

Snow Peas with Ginger

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
3 cups fresh snow peas, ends trimmed (about 8 ounces)
1 teaspoon minced pealed fresh ginger
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  Add snow peas and ginger; saute 3 minutes.  (You will DIE over how amazing this smells!) Remove from heat; stir in soy sauce and black pepper.

What is it about Chinese food? The complexity of flavors in those sauces just calls out to us, yet those same sauces can seem impossible to recreate at home.  I promise you it’s easier than you think! You can make excellent replicas of your favorite Chinese dishes in your own kitchen, with much lower levels of salt, fat, and sugar (and no MSG!).

Like this one. Beef and Broccoli has to be one of the most frequently ordered dishes on any Chinese menu, and once you try this you’ll see just how easy it is to make for yourself. Whip up a batch of brown rice and you’ll be all set for a homemade takeout dinner!

Beef with Broccoli Makeover

Serves 5

Ingredients:

1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 pound boneless beef top sirloin or flank steak, trimmed of fat
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup onions, sliced thinly into 2-inch long pieces
4 cups broccoli florets (and peeled stems, sliced)
1 red pepper, julienned
2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Directions

1. Combine the sugar, sherry, soy sauce, sesame oil and ginger.  Add the pepper flakes if desired.  Slice the beef into 2 inch long thin strips.  Stir into the marinade and let rest for 1/2 hour.

2. Heat a large non-stick wok or skillet.  Pour in the vegetable oil.  Stir in the onions and cook about 1 minute.  Put the meat and marinade into the wok and cook, stirring constantly, until the steak is browned on all sides.  Stir in the broccoli and bell pepper.  Cook about 3 minutes, covered, until the broccoli softens slightly and turns bright green.  Shake the pan frequently.