Food
Day 29/365: We Whisk You A Merry Kissmas
A little bit of brevity into this Christmas Season. These favors were made by one of my friends as a fundraiser for school. My daughter thought the saying “We Whisk You A Merry Kissmas” was very cute, but totally did not get the irony of the kitchen whisk and the Hershey Kisses on the inside. Went totally over her head, whirled around mocking her, then it suddenly hit her.
All her friends laughed and she smiled. That’s my daughter! She’s very smart, but sometimes there are those times.
Day 26/365: Swedish Tea Ring
Christmas is full of traditions and this one is no exception. My Mother used to bake this same Swedish Tea Ring at Christmas time for my God Mother. It had been almost 40 years since I had my last one. My fiancee’s Mother baked this one and it instantly brought me back. It was just as delicious as it looks.
Day 22/365: Homemade Clam Chowder
New England Clam Chowder is one of my favorite soups, normally I open a can of Campbells Chunky soup, but since I’ve had success in making homemade soup I thought I would give it a try. Yes the recipe is below. Some of my favorite recipes are from Taste of Home and rarely do I follow a recipe to the letter and this was no exception.
The result was wonderful and was given the thumbs up from my friend Beth and my daughter.
Nebraska Clam Chowder
- 4 potatoes, cubed
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup chicken broth (or chicken bouillon cube and 1 additional cup water)
- 8 oz Clamato juice
- 1 med onion finely chopped
- 1 celery rib, chopped
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 tsp dried parsley flakes
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 TBSp all purpose flour (cornstarch or whole wheat flour can also be used)
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 2 cans chopped clams (called for draining, I used juice)
- 2/3 cup process cheese (Velvetta)
- 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
In a large saucepan, combine the above ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce hear; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. In a small bowl, combine flour and cold water until smooth. Stir into potato mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce hear. Add clams and cheese; cook and stir until cheese is melted. Stire in milk, heat through.
Yield: 9 servings
Feel free to add more potatoes, onions, chopped carrots, cheese, other seafood, or dill according to your taste. Soup is wonderfully forgiving and invites creativity. If a thicker soup is desired use more flour or cornstarch.
Day 13/365: Christmas Cookies
Cookie baking is over for the season. They are ready to ship and distribute. Tried a few new recipes, one I will definitely keep is the Molasses Spice Sugar Cookies. Wow! They are delicious, especially dunked in milk. Recipe will be following, so subscribe to the RSS feed at the top and it will be arriving shortly.
Couldn’t decide on one picture today, so here are two.