Well, I went and did. I tried to make clam chowder and I used clams from the market, not canned ones. I was clueless on how one removes clams from their little homes and was a little queasy thinking about it all, but it was quite easy.
First washed and scrubbed them for sand and inspected for any broken shells. Boiled them in 2 cups of water and bingo the shells opened up! Somewhat of a miracle for a non-cooking kind of fellow.Saved the boiled water from the clams, then started adding other ingredients. Used a chicken stock, with a yellow onion and some bacon for flavoring. Went with the Yukon Gold potato and also added a little bit of instant mash potato mix to help thicken it all up a little bit. I heard flour does the same but it overcomes all the other flavors.
When I was all done, sprinkled some parsley on top to add a touch of class to it all.
It was quite yummy.
Before dinner, we drove up to Red Bluff, California- a 30 minute drive to the north. Lassen Peak, an active volcano and a National Park, was covered deep in new snow.
The soup looks delicious. I’m sure the prep part of the process was a bit daunting especially trying something that’s live before you cook it. A great drive into nature, I say a day couldn’t be more perfect.
It really was good soup. Beginner’s luck. The sun was out, the skies were clear, the grass was green, and the snow was piled on the mountains surrounding the Sacramento Valley…. Sure feel very bad for those folks in Colorado. Dumb asses in this country just won’t wake up from their denial dreams of climate change. A fire in Colorado in the end of December???I thought our fire on November 8th was insane , both driven by crazy winds although theirs was twice as fast as ours were. But I digress…the soup was very tasty!
Congrats, Gary… you’re on your way to five stars! As they say, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” 🙂
Nice shots of Lassen… aren’t you glad you don’t live up there?
Another Picture On The Wall 
The soup looks delicious. I’m sure the prep part of the process was a bit daunting especially trying something that’s live before you cook it. A great drive into nature, I say a day couldn’t be more perfect.
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It really was good soup. Beginner’s luck. The sun was out, the skies were clear, the grass was green, and the snow was piled on the mountains surrounding the Sacramento Valley…. Sure feel very bad for those folks in Colorado. Dumb asses in this country just won’t wake up from their denial dreams of climate change. A fire in Colorado in the end of December???I thought our fire on November 8th was insane , both driven by crazy winds although theirs was twice as fast as ours were. But I digress…the soup was very tasty!
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Congrats, Gary… you’re on your way to five stars! As they say, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” 🙂
Nice shots of Lassen… aren’t you glad you don’t live up there?
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The soup looks really tasty. I can smell it from here.
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