Corn Chowder (Dairy & Gluten Free)

My sister-in-law has been a vegetarian for like 20 years.  Occasionally she emails recipes to me that she thinks my picky children will like, especially now that I am trying to cook more meatless meals, for health and cost reasons.  This corn chowder is dairy-free, and she says the grated potatoes in it make the broth thicken instead of the traditional ways you thicken chowder (a milk/flour mixture).  This recipe does have creamed corn, but I just googled it (so I am 100% certain) and it said that depending on the brand, if it specifies corn starch vs modified food starch, it is gluten free.  Mine did (I bought Libby's).  I also found a recipe for homemade creamed corn, but I did not print it.  But if you are so inclined, you can make your own, apparently.  We are definitely not gluten free or dairy free here at our house but it's fun to try new things, and you never know when your gluten-free neighbor or a family from church will need a meal...to undo the gluten-free-ness of the meal tonight, we had this with freshly baked whole wheat bread & butter.

Corn Chowder (Dairy & Gluten Free)
1 tbsp oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
2 peeled carrots, diced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 1/2 cups broth (I used homemade vegetable stock)
2 peeled grated potatoes (I don't have a fancy mandoline slicer from PC so I just used a cheese grater...it still worked)
2 cans creamed corn (she didn't specify size so I bought regular sized cans)
1 bell pepper, finely chopped (I used red pepper)

Saute onion, celery, and carrots in oil until soft.  Add broth and boil.  Transfer to slow cooker.  Stir in potato, salt, and pepper.  Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.  Add corn and bell pepper and cover and cook for 30 more minutes on high.

On the way home from karate I prepped the children for this vegetarian meal.  I said it was from Auntie Dawn who is very good at cooking without meat, etc.  This led to a long discussion of the various reasons people choose to be vegetarians (economic, ethical, or health concerns...or I have a friend who has none of those reasons, she just doesn't like meat and thinks it's gross...also a viable opinion).  The very first thing Nathan said when he sat down at the table was "where's the chicken?"  I said, "remember, I told you there was no meat in this soup?"  He protested, "but Mom, that is my favorite part of soup!"  He did eat a few bites but was not impressed.  Sam suggested a helpful hint of adding ham next time.  So they totally missed the point.  I thought it was good, and it paired nicely with the bread (I like dipping bread in my soup...I think I wouldn't do it if the President was over for dinner or something, but I do like to do it)(also I wouldn't make soup if the President was coming for dinner).  The texture was definitely different than a traditional chowder.  Steve didn't believe me when I said it was chowder.  It doesn't have that creamy color to it.  But I think it would be a good stand-in if you couldn't have traditional chowder for whatever reason.  So I'm feeling pretty good about this healthy (except for possibly the sodium content) meal, even if my carnivore family was less than impressed.