Veganized Mimi's Cafe Corn Chowder

We love soup! Now that the weather has finally cooled down in Texas from one of our hottest and driest summers on record, I'm ready to whip up some chowders and soups for my family. I've mentioned before that two of my teens are picky eaters; one chowder we all like is the corn chowder at Mimi's Cafe. I hate that it's made with butter, white flour, and half-and-half though, so I used this recipe at food.com for Corn Chowder and veganized it. Topped with Shiitake Faux Bacon and chopped green onions, this chowder is sure to be a hit at your house this fall.

Ingredients: We always use organic vegetables when available.

• drizzle of olive oil  
• 1/2 yellow or white onion (chopped fine)
• 1 cup diced celery
• 5  cups hot water
• 8 cups cubed potatoes (about 3 large baking potatoes) chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 16 oz. bag frozen corn 
• 1 14 oz. can cream corn
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar or sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
• 2-3 dashes cayenne pepper (You could use white or black pepper if you don't like the spice of cayenne.)
• 3 tablespoons arrowroot powder (or flour)
• 3 cups non dairy milk such as soy or almond (If you eat dairy, then you could use half-and-half or evaporated milk instead of non-dairy milk.)

Directions:
1) Melt oil in large saucepan. Once melted add celery and onion and saute for 5 minutes (just until soft).
2) Add water, potatoes, corn, syrup, salt and pepper, making sure water covers everything, adding more if not covered completely. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, usually about 30 minutes.
3) Whisk arrowroot powder (or flour) into 1 cup of the non-dairy milk and then stir into soup.
4) Add remaining non-dairy milk and simmer until soup is thickened to a creamy consistency (usually about 15 minutes).
5) Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if wanted. If the chowder is too thick, add some milk, if it is too thin, simmer for 5-10 minutes more.
Note: Chowder will thicken upon standing