Southwestern Zucchini-Corn Chowder

chris and i are incorporating more vegetarian dishes into our menu. i made this the other night and it was yummy! taken from one of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks called Vegetarian Express.

1 1/2 tablespoons light olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped**

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium red bell pepper, diced**

1 cup diced fresh tomatoes or the equivalent of drained, canned plum tomatoes**

2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch dice**

2 tablespoons unbleached flour

10 ounce package (2 cups) frozen corn kernels

3 cups water or canned vegetable stock

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt-free herb and spice blend

1 cup low-fat milk or soy milk

salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot. Saute the onion, garlic and bell pepper over moderate heat, covered, until all are tender about 5 minutes.

2. While the onion-garlic mixture is sauteing, prepare the tomatoes and zucchini. sprinkle the flour into the onion0garlic mixture and stir until blended.

3. add the remaining ingredients to the pot except the last two. bring to a simmer over moderately high heat, then lower the heat and cook at a gentle but steady simmer for 10 minutes.

4. stir in the milk or soy milk, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

**i took the super lazy way out and used frozen veggies for all the above and canned tomatoes and soy milk and it still tasted wonderful