Rainy Day

It's been a rainy day here on the East Coast...that's an understatement. We are in the midst of Hurricane Sandy. Steady rain and gusty winds all day, and expected to continue into tomorrow. But we were determined to look on the bright side and take advantage of a day off from work for catching up on household chores as well as some more relaxing activities. Since we still have power, it seemed like a good day for a nice, hearty soup. So after a bit of brainstorming, I came up with a recipe for a potato chowder.

Unfortunately, I realized too late in the process to take pictures of this soup, but I can tell you the combination of spices and herbs give it a beautiful color, and a good depth of flavor. Here's the recipe if anyone wants to give a try.

Smoky Potato Broccoli Chowder

Time: 1.5 hrs

serves 5

1 lb. bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces

3 medium red potatoes, peeled and diced

1 cup chopped broccoli florets

1Tbsp chopped fresh garlic chives

½ tsp smoked paprika

½ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp crushed red pepper (use less or omit if you don't want spicy chowder)

2 cups chicken stock, divided

2 Tbsp. flour

1 10 oz. can condensed cream of potato soup

1 ½ cups milk (adjust for desired thickness)

1. Parboil diced potatoes for 8-10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. While potatoes are cooking, crisp the bacon in two batches in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Transfer two tablespoons of drippings to medium saucepan. Discard remaining oil.
3. Add potatoes, broccoli, garlic chives, paprika, cumin, red pepper, plus ¼ cup of chicken stock to the pan used for the bacon. Cook over medium-low heat while making the sauce.
4. In the medium saucepan, heat bacon drippings over medium-low heat and whisk in the flour to make a roux. Once combined, slowly add in the remaining chicken stock whisking constantly to keep mixture smooth. Simmer for one minute to cook the flour. Then mix in the cream of potato soup and milk. Add bacon and bring back to a simmer for a few minutes.
5. Add this mixture to the potatoes. Simmer chowder for about 30 minutes, adding extra milk or chicken stock if thinner soup is desired. Serve with crackers or slices of crusty Italian bread.

Recipe inspired by Real Simple Smoky Corn Chowder.

Stephanie

Catching Up

 The past few months have been filled with travels to new places, projects around the house, time with family, and everyday routines...in short, life happened! Unfortunately, we haven't been taking time to blog about these things, but recently we've been inspired by the blogs of  some good friends and we're ready to dive back in!

Perhaps we should start by giving a quick recap of what we have been up to lately...

August saw us in Chincoteague, Virginia - our home away from home for the past 20 some years. Beach strolls, bird walks, wonderful food and sweet family time...the perfect retreat! September was our transition month from summer to fall. The first part of the month we headed south for one last trip to the coast - North Myrtle Beach. There were no crowds since schools were in session, less humidity than the high summertime, and the water was still very warm. One of the birding highlights was our very first sighting of a male Painted Bunting.

Painted Bunting, photo courtesy of Bill Hubick

Later in the month as the weather started to turn cooler, we felt the pull to get out and enjoy the changing seasons. We did some early Christmas shopping at the Makers' Market in southern Calvert County where various artisans set up booths filled with handmade jewelry, soaps, and woodcarvings in the middle of the beautiful Annmarie Sculpture Gardens. Then we detoured on the way home to explore Flag Ponds Nature Park in Lusby. This beautiful place of varied habitats is situated right on the Chesapeake Bay near the famous Calvert Cliffs. We found an excellent diversity of birds with everything from soaring bald eagles and osprey to the adorable least flycatchers and chickadees. Definitely a place to return to in any season.

More recently, we tried something new for our family - apple-picking. Oh, to get away from the city and drive through rolling hills and see horses in the pastures! The endless rows of apple trees heavy with fruit was a sight to see. We filled our bag with treasures and have been enjoying pies, tarts, sauces and turnovers for a couple of weeks now.

Staymen apple tree

One of the reasons I look forward to autumn, and October in particular, is probably because it is a celebration month for our family. My parents' anniversary, my mom's birthday and my own are all withing a few days of each other. This year we celebrated the birthdays in a different way. My mom and I treated one another to an afternoon tea at Reynold's Tavern in downtown Annapolis. I had experienced this myself for the first time recently thanks to a very generous friend and co-worker, and I knew immediately that this would be a perfect gift. The experience of drinking tea from exquisite teacups paired with melt-in-your-mouth pastries and sandwiches, all while seated in a beautifully restored 18th-century tavern was the perfect way to spend time together. But it was more than just a meal, it was taking a moment to celebrate a relationship. Our mother-daughter relationship has been blessed by God more than I could ever have dreamed, and I look forward to many more special "moments" we can celebrate together.

Teatime at Reynolds Tavern, Annapolis

Well, I think I have run out of both words and time for this post so I will say farewell until next time. One neat thing I should mention, however, is that even though it is late October and after 9 o'clock at night, as I sit typing this the windows are open to a lovely 70 degrees and the serenade of owls!

Stephanie