Spicy Corn Chowder with Oyster Mushrooms

This recipe is based on a Crab Chowder recipe which appeared in a Cooking Light magazine this past summer. Of course I needed to heavily modify the recipe to make it vegetarian, but I did not want to do ANOTHER corn chowder. I wanted something like the flavor you would get from the sea. So, I thought oyster mushrooms are alleged to have a mild fishy flavor. I gave it a whirl and we loved it. By replacing the crab and the 2% milk original to the recipe I also shaved 100 calories off each serving.

1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoons onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
16 ounces frozen corn
1 cup half and half, divided
1 potato, peeled and cubed
8 ounces oyster mushrooms, removed from their base and cleaned
2 cups water
1 cup 1 % milk
2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1. Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a large saucepan, and add the salt, onion powder, cayenne powder, sugar and corn. Saute until the corn is thawed and warmed through. Remove 3/4 cup of the corn from the pan. Combine it with 1/4 cup of the half and half, in a blender and puree until smooth. Add the potato and the oyster mushrooms to the pan, saute for 1 minute. Stir in the 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until the potato is just tender. Reduce the heat.
2. Combine the remaining half and half with the flour in a small bowl, stir until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the pan. Cook for 1 minute stirring constantly. Return the corn puree to the pan, add the 1% milk and bring the soup to a simmer. Cook at a very low simmer, for about 4 minutes. Be careful not to let the soup come to a boil.

Makes 6, 1 cup servings. 270 calories, 12 grams of fat, 2 gram of fiber