[Cooking Up Art] Ode to New England

[miladycarol]

Cooking Up Art website

I’ve been thinking about chowder. I’m not a big fan of potato chunks,
dairy products have decided I am not their bosom friend anymore in
quantities greater than tablespoons, and clams are, well, texturally,
um… interesting, at best.

So, why am I thinking about chowder since
these are all major ingredients in it? I want to find a way to make a
tasty chowder that tastes as good to me as the chowders of my youth
smelled. I am originally from Rhode Island, home of the quahog and many
interesting ways to incorporate said invertebrates into recipes. Rhode
Island had a clear broth chowder that I distinctly remember. I also
remember experiencing some seafood bouillabaisses that were served in a
trough for the whole table to share. Both of these were far more
intriguing to me than milk based chowder.

I’ve been mulling the creation of chowder I’d like for a few days now. I walked to the local
seafood market and bought some salmon trim for the protein, sautéed an
onion, garlic, thyme and other herbs, then added chopped celery, two
tomatoes and frozen corn. Yes, I’m cheating. In my defense, fresh corn
on the cob won’t be in season for many, many months. I didn’t think my
urge for chowder would wait that long. My concoction has been simmering
in the cauldron much of the afternoon and is ready to eat.

The result: After dinner, I added more lemon juice and salt and will allow it to
simmer. It’s tasty, yet it’s lacking something. Perhaps I’ll know
tomorrow when I reheat it for lunch. It’s a recipe with promise.

Comments

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

I too am indifferent to milk-based chowder, but this looks and sounds nummy.

[wyliekat.livejournal.com]

I have tried to use frozen corn (most recently, last night's dinner) and I just cannot like it as much as I like canned corn, no matter what they say about freshness. I'll happily use other frozen veg, but not corn.

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

Well, the frozen keeps texture and that's enough for soup, I think. I've not had canned corn in a long time, yet I still can taste the metal of the can when I think about it. The only things I still buy in a can are tomatoes and that's only because I can't afford the price of fresh tomatoes for a big cauldron of sauce in the winter. I usually can disguise the taste of the can with slow cooking and fresh herbs and veggies. Maybe my can issue is from a youth of all canned veggies and my abhorrence of them. You'd have never thought I'd have been a vegetarian for nearly half my life if you saw me with a plate of veggies as a kid. *grins* Trauma, eh?

In the end, I'll really put this to the test come harvest time when there is an abundance of fresh corn.

[gwyd.livejournal.com]

I hate to ask, but would you be willing to cut post things like this?