Nana's New England Clam Chowder

Happy Monday! I hope you had a fun and relaxing weekend, even if it was a busy one! This morning, I am blogging with a big cup of hot tea. It was 60F, this morning when I woke up. We had a really nice rain all weekend, and last night. We took that opportunity to open the windows, and turn off the central air.

It feels amazing, to be blogging, with the window open, breathing in the fresh, crisp Fall air, especially after it had rained all night! 

This is the time of year, where we enjoy the comforts of warm food. There is one family recipe that everyone in our family is familiar with and that is Nana's Clam Chowder.

 One year, I was blessed to have Nana write out her recipe for me. 

As she wrote it out, she tenderly explained it to me, and it was as if she wasn't explaining what or how the ingredients were added, but how she added that special touch to show how much she loved us all. You know when you taste something, it feels like there is love put in every spoonful or bite you taste. Now every year since, my children practically beg me to make this for them. It's like a warm hug in every bowl. My favorite part, is when she came to end, she would always remind me how important finishing off the soup was, by adding a Tablespoon of butter to the pot before serving. It gave the chowder, a velvety rich finish, that extra special touch! You can really taste the difference.

Nana's New England Clam Chowder

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 stalks of celery cleaned and sliced

1 1/2 tsp. butter

1 tsp. fresh thyme

Salt and Pepper

6 oz. canned evaporated milk

5 cans of minced clams, Do Not Drain

*Salt Pork, cut into chunks

1 Tbls. butter

Oyster Crackers

*Salt Pork is very much like bacon, you could easily substitue it. It is very salty also, so if you are avoiding salt, use low-sodium ham or bacon.

1. Peel and dice potatoes into bite size pieces. Rinse the potatoes well. Place in stock pot, cover with water and cook over medium high heat for 10 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Drain potatoes.

2. Cook salt pork in saute pan, about 10 minutes. Remove Salt Pork, and set aside.

3. In same saute pan, on medium heat, melt butter and saute the onion and celery, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

4. Add the onion and celery, the cans of minced clams and clam juice, thyme, salt and pepper, and evaporated milk. Heat over medium high heat, for 10 minutes, until you can see steam coming from soup. Do Not Boil!

5. Add 1 Tbls of butter, to the chowder before serving. Serve with Oyster Crackers.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!  

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Until next time!

xo,

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Green Chili Pork Stew

Happy Fri-Yay! How has your week been going? It's been a busy one here. Both girls have had school project days, Katelyn's was a Toy Expo, where the children came up with their own toys to sell to children, created a website, commercial, and app for their toy and presented them. It was a really fun night. Lindsay's class is making a science project in class, it's tomorrow, but it seems like every day except Monday, I'm going here or there, and sometimes I don't know whether I'm coming or going, oh I'm just kidding!

Tuesday I went into town for some secret shopping, and I stopped by, and as long as I lived in Mesa, I even got my degree at Mesa Community College, and I'd heard of the Rose Garden on campus, but never took the time to smell the roses. Even though it's the end of Summer, and most of the roses seem like they are sitting the Summer out from blooming, there were a few rose bushes that really were stunning, as the Summer didn't even phase them, they went ahead and bloomed all over the place.

 My favorite was Bolero, with it's beautiful white fragrant ruffled petals. If you get the chance, you can self-guide yourself for an hour through the Rose garden that displays more than 8,000 roses! Tomorrow is my nieces birthday, and hopefully we'll be able to see a special showing of Disney Descendants, it's First come First serve with only one showing, that the girls really want to go see this weekend!

Onto the recipe. Here in the Southwest, Fall officially starts with the Harvesting of Hatch Green Chilis from New Mexico. Several years ago, I worked for a very well established local Mexican restaurant, Macayos, who maybe you've seen their canned goods in your grocery.  At Macayos they also farm and harvest their own Green chilis here in Arizona, and for a month, we'd run specials for our Fresh Chili Harvest, is how I marked the beginning of Fall.

My family loves Fresh Roasted Green Chili, and with the temperatures finally dipping below 100F, to me that's Fall, so tonight I am celebrating by cooking up one of my families favorite fall comfort foods, Green Chili Pork Stew!

Green Pork Chili Stew

2 pounds pork loin, cubed

3 or 4 fresh or frozen Hatch or Anaheim Chilis, roasted,seeded and diced

3 or 4 Yukon Gold Potatoes, diced

4 cups chicken broth

2 Tbls. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

3 or 4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. salt

Tabasco (optional)

1. Grill the chilis, until their skins are sweltering, and they are slightly charred on all sides. Turn off grill, and place chilis in a plastic bag, to allow the skins to steam off for about 20 minutes. Rinse under cold water, and the skins should easily come off. 

2. In a stock pot, heat 1 Tbls. Extra Virgin Olive oil on Medium-High heat. Add the pork, and sear until all sides are golden brown. Add 3 cups chicken broth, and potatoes. 

3. In small saute pan, heat the other 1 Tbls. olive oil and saute the onion and garlic, until onion is 

translucent, about 5 minutes. Add to the stock pot.

4. With 2 or  3 of the green chilis, add to the stock pot. With the remaining 1 cup of chicken broth and remaining green chili, blend in blender. Add the blended chili mixture to the stock pot. Cook until the potatoes and pork are tender about half an hour.

5. I take a potatoe masher and, mash the potatoes slightly to thicken the stew. For a spicier stew, add a couple shots of Tabasco. Then ladle into bowls.

Garnish with cilantro and sour cream. Serve with warmed flour tortillas.

Wishing you a fabulous weekend!

Until next time!

xo, 

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A Week in CASL photos June 8- June 14

Happy Beautiful Monday! Ok, so last week got a little crazy, my husband needs to have his wisdom teeth out, and my daughter had strep throat. We had a birthday party last weekend for my brother and father in law (we kind of celebrate father's day too with that), then my nephew's first birthday party this weekend, and my mother came earlier than expected and stayed a little longer; lunch turned into dinner as well, which made for an amazing visit! Usually when she comes to visit, she stays for a couple of hours, since we've moved, we are now 3 hours away, instead of two, so for her to stay for almost seven hours, you can imagine the amazing quality time, I got to spend with her, and the time she got to spend with her grand children.

Oh, and the funniest thing, my nephew's favorite gift, wasn't all the toys and presents, it was the balloons. He just couldn't stop giggling and hitting them.

This week is a little different....I didn't truly follow the prompt for the weekly photos because the prompts were difficult emotions, I followed a few, so this week is a mix of both photo prompts and what I have been up to this week on my blog.

June 8th- Makes Me happy...Multi-colored roses...The table cloth was made by my Great-Grandmother....I remember running through her garden as a small child, stopping to smell her roses.

June 9th Disgusting....Do you like okra? Then maybe this will come as a surprise, but guess what
just looking at okra. creeps me out...Every time I look at it I see a bowl of slimy eyeballs...I love Gumbo...but please, please please Don't put any okra in it..Just makes me sick!! Ugh!!

Ginger Laphing...Take chicken noodle soup and add Asian flavors, and you have Ginger Laphing. I made this for my family after my husband had a dental emergency and my daughter got strep throat last week. The flavors were delicious, nutritious and very comforting!

Shibori trend: Last week, I seriously fell in love with Shibori.

I have been obsessively searching Pinterest and other blogs, to learn more fun patterns to create. Surprisingly, this DIY turned out easier than I expected. 

 

June 13th....Sadness...It makes me sad to see these lovely peony blooms fade. I wish their blooms would last forever.

June 14th....On my mind.... For the ten of you that follow my blog, my apologies for reposting this picture, but it was almost 110F yesterday, and well, I've adjusted to the heat, I know this is just the beginning, but to see my mother, melting....well, keeping cool has been on my mind. If this is your first time visiting my blog, I am glad you stopped by. If you can I would love for you to join my Ice Cream Social.... (Pina Colada Gelato)

 

 

 

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Have a great rest of your week! Until next time!

xo, Christine

 

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Chicken Noodle Soup vs. Ginger Laphing

First, let me make it perfectly clear, I am not, I repeat not a Vegetarian, just in case you were the tiniest bit curious. I know this, because I just about ate a pound of smoked prime rib my husband smoked this past weekend!

Secondly, getting strep throat on Summer break, is something my daughter absolutely did not plan on doing during her vacation, but she did, so off to Urgent care we went!

While we are sitting in the waiting area, I brought this cookbook (affiliate link) Street Vegan that I received to review for Blogging for Books (review soon to be posted). The story behind Ginger Laphing, is that it is a Tibetan soup that you find out on the busy streets prepared from street carts. With the soba noodles, bok choy and vegetable broth, this is a very nourishing soup, making it an absolutely delicious alternative to chicken noodle soup.

We won't talk about the weather here in Arizona, because as you all know by now, it's hot, hot, hot, but it's a dry heat, right! You're probably thinking why is she making soup? It's a good thing I did too, and I will tell you why!

Perusing the recipes in the cookbook, this recipe surprisingly caught my eye, "Ginger Laphing", which reminded me of the Vitnamese noodle soup 'Pho' that my oldest daughter who does happen to be Vegetarian took me to a restaurant while I visited her up in Washington in February last year. She was suffering from a terrible head cold, and wanted a gigantic bowl of 'Pho'.  Pho can be made vegetarian as well!

Unlike 'Pho', the recipe for 'Ginger Laphing' has the addition of potatoes, is vegetarian, as well as Gluten-Free friendly!

When I made this soup I made a few changes and found a trick that made eating hot, steamy soup on a Summer day quite enjoyable!

The recipe calls for Tamari, which my belief was it was just like Soy Sauce. Surprisingly, they are similar, but Tamari is wheat free making it safe to use if you have Gluten allergies. Since we don't I just used regular soy sauce. It also calls for roasted peanuts for garnish, my son has nut allergies, so I omitted those. For added protein, I did in fact add diced, cooked chicken to it. Here's the tip to making soup a pleasure to eat during the Summer.

While I was cooking the noodles, I refrigerated the potatoes. When the noodles were done, I took the cold potatoes and added them to the soup. The soup was still warm enough to enjoy, without being way too hot! It also made for a light meal, since none of us really feel like eating much in this heat!

What I really loved most about this soup are the flavors. You have the spiciness from the chili, the sweet tanginess from the vinegar, the saltiness from the soy sauce, along with the flavors of the ginger, and sesame oil, making a lovely rich broth.

Oh before I forget, I am not going to say this is better than my Mother's or my MIL's chicken noodle soup, because God knows, I will be struck down for blasphemy, since both women when they make homemade chicken noodle soup, make their noodles from scratch! I will admit, that this is definitely more satisfying and tastes better than good old store bought canned chicken noodle soup, and much better for you, because only god knows what chemicals are put into store bought canned soup!

Ginger Laphing (adapted from Street Vegan)

2 Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

4 tsp. toasted sesame oil

2 sliced green onions

4 tsp. minced and peeled fresh ginger

1 Serrano minced and seeded

2 garlic cloves minced

5 cups vegetable, chicken or beef broth

3 Tbls. soy sauce or tamari (GF)

2 Tbls. brown rice vinegar

1 bundle (2-3 oz) soba noodles

1 head of bok choy, leaves separated

1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts (for garnish)

1. Place potatoes in a medium pot, covered with 4 cups of water and cooked for 7 minutes or until soft. Drain them in a colander.

2. Heat the sesame oil in same pot. Saute the sliced green onion, ginger, chile, and garlic in the hot oil, stirring. Once the garlic has softened, approximately 4 minutes, add tamari or soy sauce, the broth, and vinegar; bring to a boil.

3. Break the bundle of soba noodles in half and stir them in the broth. Cook for 2 minutes until the noodles are al dente. Stir in potatoes, and bok choy. Serve immediately.

Garnish with more sliced green onions and chopped roasted peanuts.

Hope you all have a great day!

Until next time!

xo Christine



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A Week in CASL photos: February 19- February 25

I am so glad you stopped by to visit me today! What I love about Wednesday is that I get to share with you a peek into what my week has been like, and possibly a sneak peek to what next week will bring. I've tried 365 Photo or Daily photo memes several times before, and surprisingly, I am getting farther posting my photos once a week, instead of once a day. It makes a big difference, and it's really nice to look back and see a slice of my day!

February 19th...Fresh...Love the smell of fresh lemon and basil. I made a delicious Lemon-Basil butter, that I added to my Greek Lemon-Basil chicken soup. Finishing the soup with the butter gives it a rich, velvety taste, giving it that happy combo of the lemon basil.

 

February 20th- This is so me...It was a gorgeous night out. Had the windows down, you couldn't help but not put your hands out the window. Why this is so me? I love road trips. The feel of the open road. Just to drive, finding new adventures. Spring break is in a week and a half, and I'm getting super excited. Heads it's California, Tails it's Vegas.

 

 

February 21st- Matching...My favorite pair of earrings. I love these shell earrings. They remind me of the ocean. If you are looking for a project to chase away the winter blues, over at 11 Gables, she has a gorgeous project involving gold leaf and shells! Which would really brighten up my day!

 

February 22nd- Macro...I don't really own a Macro lens, I just use either my phone or my tablet to take pictures. Macro photography is photography producing photographs of small items larger than life size. For keeping a clear shot, I think I did pretty good. If you couldn't allready tell, I love photography. My father was a really great photographer. Back in the 70s he took most of my baby and toddler photos in black and whites that are very dear to me. My oldest daughter, living in Washington state, has taken some amazing shots of Mt. Baker and of the surrounding forests. For me Photography captures the beauty of our world. Here's a shot of a Daffodil I picked up this past

weekend.

 

 

 

February 23rd- Fixing...My original thought was to take a shot of me fixing dinner, but after I stepped outside I thought this shot, fixing for a storm at dusk was prettier, than the one of me sautéing chicken breasts. Living here in Arizona, this seems to be the norm. One day it's gorgeous, the next it's rainy and freezing. I shouldn't complain, it's no where near negative temperatures.

February 24th... 12:00...My lunch...Mediterranean Quinoa salad...This is a sneak peek of a recipe I will be posting tomorrow. Again, loving the lemon basil flavors, quinoa, red bell pepper, and avocado with feta cheese. Delish!

 

I am missing a day, this morning I need to take my daughter to a doctors appointment. She's had a really bad cough that won't go away. Will update this post when I get back!

 

Are you on Instagram?  You really should be!!  I recently started a photo a day prompt on #fmsphotoaday.

 

 Let me know if you decide to join in the fun!

Have a great rest of your week! Until next time!

xo, Christine

Greek Lemon-Basil Chicken soup

When my oldest daughter had the flu, she only wanted Minestrone soup. Even to this day, when she's sick this is what comforts her and gets her feeling better. This is also one of my husband's favorite soups, and while I'm not a huge fan of Minestrone, when I added my touch of a Lemon-Basil butter to finish the soup, it changed my whole world, simply for the fact that I love anything with lemons in it.

The first step is to make the Lemon-Basil butter. Basically it's about 1 cup of Basil chopped, 1/2 cup butter, softened, but not melted, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 Tbls. minced garlic and a pinch of salt. All mixed together, and refrigerated for an hour.

In two small batches, sauté half the bag of spinach with 1/2 Tbls. lemon butter. Wilt the spinach, until it is reduced in size by about half. Repeat with the remaing half. Set aside.

Usually I use chicken breast or tenders, but this week, chicken wasn't on special, so I picked up some chicken thighs. Again, if I buy thighs I usually buy boneless, but couldn't find any. Truth be told, I like chicken thighs, their fat, adds so much flavor to a dish, that I thought this would be perfect for the soup. I sautéed the chicken thighs on medium high heat, in 1 Tbls. of lemon-butter for about 12 minutes on each side, until the skin is a crisp golden brown, and the juices run clear. I cooked six thighs, in two batches.

While the chicken is cooking. To a large stock pot, I added the chicken stock, tomatoes, white beans, spinach and shells. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium, and cook the shells for about 8-10 minutes.

After the chicken is fully cooked,  the juices run clear, set aside for 5 minutes to cool. After slightly cooled, shred the chicken off the bone and add to the soup. Then add the Kalamata olives.

I love this part. One day I will share my Nana's Clam Chowder recipe, but this is what I love about finishing soups. She told me that her mother told her, after ladling the soup, and before serving the soup, place about 1 tsp. of butter on the top of the soup. She told me it's this loving touch that gives the soup it's rich flavor. And she was right. Every time I do this, it really makes the soup complete with the added extra touch of butter and basil. Hope this soup warms you up on a cold winter's day!

Greek Lemon-Basil Chicken soup

Lemon-Basil Butter:

1 cup basil chopped

1/2 cup (1 stick) of softened butter

Juice of one lemon

pinch of salt

1 Tbls. minced garlic

Soup:

6 chicken thighs, sautéed and shredded

6 cups chicken broth

1- 15 oz. can diced tomatoes

Salt and Pepper

1- 15 oz. can white beans, drained

1- 16oz. box of shell pasta

10 oz. fresh spinach

1/4 cup Kalamata olives

1. In a small bowl add 1 cup of Basil chopped, 1/2 cup butter, softened, but not melted, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 Tbls. minced garlic and a pinch of salt. All mixed together, and refrigerated for an hour.

2. In two small batches, sauté half the bag of spinach with 1/2 Tbls. lemon butter. Wilt the spinach, until it is reduced in size by about half. Repeat with the remaing half. Set aside.

3. Sauté the chicken thighs on medium high heat, in 1 Tbls. of lemon-butter for about 12 minutes on each side, until the skin is a crisp golden brown, and the juices run clear. I cooked six thighs, in two batches.

4. In a large stock pot, add the chicken stock, tomatoes, white beans, spinach and shells. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium, and cook the shells for about 8-10 minutes.

5.  When the chicken is fully cooked,  the juices run clear, set aside for 5 minutes to cool. After slightly cooled, shred the chicken off the bone and add to the soup. Then add the Kalamata olives.

6. Ladle the soup into bowls. Just before serving add 1 tsp. of the Lemon-Basil butter to melt on top.

Serve with crusty Italian bread!

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Tomatillo-Chipotle Pork Chili Stew

With Spring around the corner, thought we were in the home stretch and dodged the cold/flu season. All through Winter, we've stayed pretty healthy, that was until Katelyn, started with the sniffles, and then Lindsay, as she put it started coughing like a "goose". Cute, huh!! 

Now you know us moms we take care of everyone else, we don't get sick. Am I right?

So when my throat started getting scratchy, and in the middle of the night, I started a short but most definite coughing fit, I knew it was time for a cold/flu fighting soup!

Again, if you saw my recipe for my East-Meets West Chipotle-Lime Sticky Wings, you know I'm all about the spice, while still accommodating those who like to keep their lips from burning off!

This is why I like this soup, it's packed with Vitamin C from the red peppers, and the heat from both the tomatillo and chipotle salsa, stop those post nasal drip sniffles dead in their tracks, and clears your nasal passages right up! With the carrots providing Vitamin A, this stew is very nutritious, comforting (a little spicy, but you can adjust it to your taste), and to say the least it will warm you right up! 

First, I chopped the red pepper, onion, carrots, and potatoes.

Here is the stew, with the pork, stewed tomatoes, chili , chipotle and tomatillo salsas. Before adding the sauteed, red peper and onion.

All you need is to saute the red pepper and onion, until the onion is translucent. Then add 1 Tbls. of flour. Add about 1 cup of the broth to the flour/ onion mixture to thin the flour. Add the thinned roux back in the stew.

In a small pot, bring about 4 cups of water to a boil, to cook the potatoes and carrots, about 10 minutes, until tender. Add them into the stew.

My son really liked this, but my girls thought it was too spicy for them. If you are looking for a hot soup to kick the cold and flu out, then this is the one! 

Tomatillo-Chipotle Pork Chili Stew

2 Tbls. butter, divided

1 1/2 pound pork loin, chopped into stew pieces

Salt and pepper

1 onion, chopped

1/4 cup chipotle salsa (more or less depending on preference)

1 Tbls. New Mexico chili spice

1 Tbls. flour

4 cups chicken broth

2 carrots, peeled, and cut into 1/2 dice

3 large potatoes about 1 pound

1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained

1 cup Mild Tomatillo salsa (more or less depending on preference)

Directions:

1. In a large heavy stock pot, over medium heat, melt 1 Tbls. butter. Season pork with salt and pepper. Add to the pot, and brown for about 5 minutes. 

2. In a saute pan, melt 1 Tbls of butter. Add onion, and red pepper. Saute until onion is translucent and red pepper is still red, but cooked soft, about 5 minutes.

3. To the browned pork, add the chili powder, chipotle and tomatillo salsas, canned tomatoes, and chicken broth. Cook on low heat, while the potatoes and carrots are cooking.

4. In a small pot, boil about 4 cups of water. Add the potatoes and carrots, and cook until tender about 10 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, add the 1 Tbls. of flour to the sauteed red pepper and onion, making a roux. Ladel about 1 cup of the broth to the roux to thin it out. Then add the thinned roux, with the sauteed red pepper and onion back in the stew. Cook on low, for another 5 minutes, until slightly thickened.

6. Finally, add the cooked potatoes and carrots to the pork stew. My husband had me add a can of corn in the end. You can add if you wish, I don't really like canned corn, I prefer fresh corn off the cob.

7. Ladel in bowls and serve with tortillas or tortilla chips. Voila!

Hope this Pork stew not only warms you during this last stretch of winter, but helps keep you healthy from the cold/flu season!

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Roasted Butternut squash-Pear soup

Here in Arizona, we really don't get our first  chilly days until November, and then it changes drastically. The last week in October we are usually in the 90's, and then the next week we're in high 70's with mornings in the 40s or 50s, that's freezing for us. It is definitely soup weather now. There is something warm and cozy about Butternut squash soup, not to mention satisfying. Looking through recipe after recipe for Butternut squash soup, I came across this one from Martha Stewart. Her recipe uses apples. When I think of apples, I think of the end of August to the middle of October, in November and December I like the taste of pears, so I substituted a pear for the apple. Another flavorful ingredient is the cayenne pepper, gives the soup a little heat, that warms you up from the inside.

 

When I roast my Butternut squash I like to rub olive oil and sea salt over the halves, and then fill the cavities with fresh herbs; thyme, rosemary, sage. I roasted them at 425F for 25-30 minutes until they were fork tender. Discard the herbs, and set aside to cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roasted Butternut squash- Pear soup

serves 6

 

1 Medium size butternut squash, seeded, roasted

olive oil

sea salt

1 small white onion chopped

1 tsp. butter

Fresh thyme, rosemary or sage

1 Pear chopped

1 small piece of fresh ginger, minced

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. black pepper

4 cps. broth, either chicken or vegetable

Plain yogurt/ Parmesan cheese 

 

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Half the butternut squash. Rub with olive oil and sea salt. Fill cavity with fresh herbs. Roast for 25-30 minutes, until fork tender. While still warm, with spoon, scoop out flesh, leaving only the skin.

 

2. Melt the butter. Saute the onion and ginger, until soft about 4 minutes. Add the roasted squash, pear, fresh herbs (if you are using rosemary or thyme, destem the herbs, use only the leaves) , cayenne, and broth. Simmer on medium heat until pear is tender, about 10 minutes.

 

3. With a stick blender, blend soup until smooth.

 

4. Ladle into cups or bowls. Serve with a Tbls. of yogurt and fresh herbs, or Parmesan cheese for garnish.