The perfect day for CLAM CHOWDER

This morning I woke up to drizzle outside and now that it is finally fall in Kansas, this means soup!  Looking for input, I asked my husband what soup I should make today and he immediately said chowder.  I have been wanting to make chowder for a while but it just doesn't feel right when it's over 80 degrees outside.  Today, is the perfect rainy, cool fall day.

I love clam chowder.  It is probably my most favorite soup meal.  Growing up in Washington, we had access to fresh clams and good clam chowder everywhere.  Here in Kansas....not so much.  I can name one restaurant that serves good chowder and I can name many who serve something they call clam chowder but is really more like bacon potato soup.

So, if I want good clam chowder, I have to make it.  Rarely do I have access to fresh clams which really make all the difference.  Back home I would have used fresh razor clams dug from the ocean beaches.  Here in Kansas I have two choices, I could buy them online to be shipped at completely unaffordable prices or I can buy canned or sometimes frozen clams in the grocery store.  Today, I use canned.

Sandy's Clam Chowder:
Serves 4

3 slices thick cut bacon
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
3 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
1 tbsp fresh thyme
2 yellow potatoes peeled and diced
1/2 cup shredded carrots (I buy these already shredded from the grocery store)
16 oz seafood stock
1 10oz can baby clams with liquid
2 6.3oz can chopped clams with liquid
16 oz half and half
1/2 cup white wine (I used a 2016 Funk Zone White Blend)
1/3 cup each of four and butter for thickening
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

I start by cutting the bacon up into bits with my kitchen scissors and sauteing in a medium size pot.  Once the bacon fat starts to melt, I add the onions and celery sauteing until soft and the bacon cooked.  Next add the parsley, thyme, diced potatoes and carrots, cover with the seafood stock cooking until potatoes are soft.  In a small saute pan on low heat, start your butter and flour roux.  Add the clams with liquid to the chowder base and once roux is ready, add a small amount of seafood stock to loosen up the roux and then add to your chowder base to thicken.  Lastly, add the salt and pepper, wine and half and half.  Slowly bring to a low boil but don't boil too long...you don't want to curdle your milk, take off heat and let set for at least an hour to develop the flavor.  Once you are ready to serve, heat chowder back up to desired temperature. 

Checking out...

Today I have had enough of the terrible news headlines and I have made the decision to check out from any news channels, blogs or social media highlighting the continued and constant terrible reminder of the sad state of the planet.

I decided to spend the day in the kitchen.  First on the list, pasta sauce made with left over roast beef.  My recipe?  Well, I don't really have one.  Most of the time I just make it up as I go but I did keep track of what I used.

1 lb left over roast beef cut into 1/4 inch cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion diced
16 oz organic tomato sauce
16 oz organic diced tomatoes
6 oz tomato paste
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp minced fresh oregano
2 tbsp minced fresh basil
1 tbsp minced fresh sage

I use fresh herbs from my garden but if you don't have fresh, use half the amount of dried

2 tbsp packed brown sugar
wine or other liquid as needed (I used 2016 Porter & Plot Dolcetto, maybe 1/4 cup at most)

Saute onion in olive oil on low heat, add roast.  Once onions are soft, add the rest of the ingredients.  For more depth in flavor, cook on low heat for a few hours adding liquid or a good wine as needed.  Red wine will add a richness and white wine will add a fruitiness to any tomato based sauce.

Now for the homemade pasta!

Of course you don't need to make homemade pasta but as I was checking out from the world, I figured why not.  You don't need a pasta rolling machine to make homemade pasta, you just need a good work surface and a rolling pin.

2 cups flour
3 large eggs (I used eggs fresh from my lovely copper marans chickens)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
water as needed

Al lot of people mix and knead their homemade pasta by hand but I prefer to use my Kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook.  Either way, you basically do the same thing.  If mixing and kneading by hand, pour the flour onto the center of your work surface, add the salt, make a well, crack your eggs into the well, scramble them up and slowly incorporate the flour.  If using your machine like I do, pour your flour and salt into the mixing bowl, make a well, add the eggs, turn your machine onto a low setting and slowly incorporate the flour.  From here you will want to knead the mixture until smooth.  If dough looks rough, you have not kneaded it enough.  If dough is too wet, add a little four.  If dough is too dry, add a little water.  Dough should be more firm than bread dough

Once thoroughly kneaded, cover tightly and let set for 45 minutes.  This step is very important as it allows the dough time to relax making rolling it out much easier.



I used a hand crank pasta roller and cutter to make the dough into Fettuccine shaped pasta.  If rolling by hand, use a rolling pin working from the center to the outside of the dough like rolling out a pie crust.  If it gets to big for your work space, cut it it half and keep rolling until the dough is thin enough to see your hand through.  Make sure to keep dusting your dough with flour to keep it from sticking to it's self or your work surface.  Once you have your pasta rolled out to the desired thickness, you can either use a hand crank pasta cutter like I did, or gently roll the dough up like a cigar and slice it to the desired width.  





At this point, you can cook your pasta right away, lay it out to dry or as I did, letting the pasta sit on my work surface for about 40 minutes before I cooked it.

Bring a large pot to boil with salted water, once boiling, I turn the pot down to medium high and add the pasta.  Fresh pasta doesn't take very long to cook.  Depending on size it will be ready anywhere from 1-3 minutes.  Pay attention and check to make sure you are not over cooking it.



I like to take the pasta right from the pot to a prep bowl and add the desired amount of sauce, toss it around and then plate it adding additional sauce to the top and of course Italian cheese!

National Farmers Day

Yesterday was National Farmers Day.  On this day we are encouraged to thank farmers for all their hard work saying, if you ate today, thank a farmer.  While a day of honor is definitely deserved to all of the hard working farmers, I would like to see more encouragement to the general population to get involved in growing and harvesting their own meat and vegetables.

Back in WWII families were encouraged to own chickens and to plant vegetable gardens.  These people were seen as patriots as they were able to take the pressure off the public food supply by growing their own.  Unfortunately, these days, the government doesn’t seem supportive in such endeavors.

Not only has raising your own back yard chicken flock become illegal in many municipalities, so have gardens.  I could not believe it when I heard it.  Gardens are illegal?  Why you ask?  Because a vegetable garden is not what people in the neighborhood want to see.  Some city codes state that yards have suitable live plant material.  Suitable meaning, grass, trees, shrubs, etc…not vegetables.  Some cities are regulating the amount of garden space people may have in their yard.  With all the government regulations, the future of backyard gardening and farming is in danger. 

Chickens, beehives and goats are no longer tolerated in urban and suburban communities.  In a world of lobbyists pushing for the desires of the rich, I believe this is because large producers don’t want individuals to be able to provide for themselves so they will be dependent on mass producers.

With the movement to self-sustainability and people wanting to know what is in their food and how their food is grown and harvested, the government seems grossly out of touch with today’s Americans. 

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

It is finally fall here in the Midwest and the pumpkins are ready.  This post is dedicated to my friend Stacy, who I know loves pumpkin soup

I am a big fan of puree soup and pumpkin soup is a perfect way to use the pumpkins from the garden.  This recipe is super easy and gives a blast of flavor with little effort.

When you can, try to use ingredients from your own garden.  This way, you know the ingredients are herbs and vegetables you have grown,


Ingredients:

2 3/4 lbs whole pie pumpkin
1 leek stem, halved and cleaned
8 garlic cloves
thyme sprigs
olive oil
3 table spoons butter
salt and pepper
4 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup heavy cream











Preheat oven to 350.  Slice pumpkin in half, and clean cavity of seeds.  Reserve seeds for roasting! Place pumpkin halves cavity side up and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place thyme sprigs and garlic in cavity.

Carefully place pumpkin halves upside down in baking dish drizzled with olive oil, Be careful not to lose any of the thyme and garlic stuffed inside.  Place leek in baking dish with pumpkin halves, drizzle with more olive oil and place in oven baking for 1 hour.

 Remove from oven and let cool. Once cool enough to touch, carefully scrape the pumpkin from the skin and place in a blender or food processor along with the roasted garlic and leeks, honey and chicken stock.  The thyme sprigs can be discarded.  Blend until pureed. Pour blended mixture into pot, add butter and heat on low until desired temperature.  Before serving, pour into a soup tureen and add the cream in a swirl.  (I like to add a little bit of cream to each bowl if I am serving individual servings.) Serve with a bit of toasted french bread.