When I told my sister, the English major about this recipe, she got quite upset about it. At first I wasn't sure if it was the Mai Tai talking, or the"Manhattan" part of it. We're from New England, so maybe she was offended and worried that I'd strayed after being in New Jersey so long. After a bit more animated words, she explained that the issue was actually with the word "chowder". (Sounds like another never-ending debate similar to "sauce" vs "gravy", or "pork roll" vs "Taylor Ham".) She's on the side that a chowder must contain milk or cream. I can't argue. I agreed I'd call it a stew. Since it is based off of a traditional "Manhattan Clam Chowder" recipe, I didn't want to confuse people or make it sound like something else. So call it what you want. 
To further confuse the issue, I used mushrooms in place of the clams to make it a vegan recipe. 

Ingredients
2 cups Shimeji, or Beech Mushrooms, chopped into 1" pieces
3 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes, cut into cubes
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 carrot, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 qt Spicy Mushroom Soup
1 Tbsp Olive Oil/Butter of choice
28oz can tomato puree or blended whole tomatoes
bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste if needed
3 Fresh Thyme sprigs
​Parsley for garnish

2 quarts mushroom or veggie broth
8oz Guinness beer
1 pound baby gold and red potatoes
1 pound mixed mushrooms (a good meaty one like king oysters is nice)
3-4 ribs celery
3-4 carrots
1 onion
5 garlic cloves
2T tomato paste
1/2t dried thyme (or more if fresh)
salt and pepper to taste

Throw all the ingredients in a slow cooker, crock pot, or regular pot. Simmer until veggies are soft. 
Serves about 4
​Enjoy with some Irish Soda Bread!

Chop all ingredients to the size you prefer... diced, sliced, big chunks...
Throw it all in a crock pot and let it do it's thing.
Or throw it in a soup pot and simmer for 2 hours or so.

This was a small batch for a small crock pot. It made 2 large bowls of soup for a hungry couple.

This is our first recipe post. We're no professional chefs, but we do cook most of our meals. We like recipes that take don't take hours. We also hate when blogs waste my time with ads, huge pictures and tons of words telling me one's life story connected through this recipe. So we're just jumping right in!
This recipe will take about an hour total, maybe longer if you enjoy a cocktail and conversation while cooking like we do.
It will feed 4-6 people. (We like leftovers so we don't have to cook every night)







​1 pound meat of your choice, or make it vegetarian and don't (chicken, pork, beef, shrimp)
1/2 to 1 pound mixed mushrooms torn into strips
           (use more if you are not doing meat or just want it extra mushroomy)
2-3 carrots, julienned
Kaffir lime leaves or other citrus, lemongrass
2-3 cloves garlic (chopped, minced, or grated)
Thumb sized portion of ginger (chopped fine or grated)
Bok Choy (I used a nice sized bag full from our CSA share from Drop the Beet Farms)
2 cups broth (veggie, chicken, mushroom, etc.)
1 can coconut milk
Soy Sauce
Sriracha (optional)
Cilantro and or thai basil
Scallions

Cut the meat, if you're using it, into strips (I did about 1"x1/4"). Brown this in a large pan with oil. Remove the meat, leaving the oil and fat in pan, and put meat aside on a plate.
Add mushrooms to the pan and sautee over medium high heat for 10 minutes or so. You can add a splash of the broth at the beginning to prevent sticking and having to add more oil.
Add the carrots (if you wanted other veggies like broccoli, snow peas, red bell pepper, etc. add these now too) Bruise citrus leaves and add them in. Sautee another 5 minutes or so.
Add the ginger and garlic and sautee until fragrant.
Stir in the broth, coconut milk and meat, and add bok choy on top. Lower heat and cover. Simmer until bok choy is wilted and tender.
Stir it all together and add soy sauce and sriracha to taste.
Garnish with Cilantro and Scallions.
Serve over rice or rice noodles.
Other notes…
-You could marinate the meat first. We used a bit of soy, mirin, orange juice, honey and garlic.
-Chestnut mushrooms add a nice texture. Oysters and shiitakes are always great. Lion's mane makes a great meat replacement.
-If you're not lucky enough to find kaffir lime leaves, other citrus will do. Lemongrass can be an alternative or in addition to the citrus. In a pinch, try some lime juice and zest!
-You could add hot peppers to the dish and eliminate the need for sriracha. But sriracha is fine if you forget them like I did! Sriracha is also a good addition to the table if you have some spice sensitive people joining you.
​-I forgot the cilantro too, sometimes you have it together, sometimes you don't. It was still delicious.