Clam Chowders

On Monday or Tuesday, I came across CheeseSlave's post on Manhattan Clam Chowder. Growing up, I had only ever eaten Boston clam chowder, and that pretty much always from a can. Since I had all the ingredients for the Manhattan version, and it was definitely time for more clams (iron!), I gave it a whirl last night.

Things I did differently: no bacon, no stock, thyme instead of oregano, and 1 red potato in place of the 1 1/2 - 2 pounds russet potatoes. (Doesn't that seem like a lot of potatoes?) I used 1 pound of chopped, frozen clams. The end result was simply lovely. A light tomato broth with lots of nice bits to chew. Even though the body is able to absorb heme iron easily, I like the complimentary Vitamin C from the tomatoes just to give my intestines a little extra encouragement. Since it's not a stick-to-the-ribs creamy soup, this chowder is a nice lighter version good for spring. My meal was rounded out with a bit of sourdough rye bread topped with peanut butter and a scoop of sauerkraut. And a glass of white wine.

Sometimes it's very hard being me. For instance, last night I had to eat a nice bowl of strawberries and cream for dessert, so that the last of the berries wouldn't go bad. :) These were spring strawberries, somewhat forced into ripeness, so now I'm really looking forward to summer. Deep red strawberries, ripe peaches and apricots, sweet-tart cherries, cantaloupe. Delicious.

Last night's dinner came after some fabulous exercise over at the park. Rode my bike to and from (2.6 miles), then enjoyed a nice hike/jog on the trail (about 4 miles). Saw one deer, two rabbits, a number of new birds, and tons of insects. Something has changed, so now there are swarms of bugs all over the place, where there were none before. Increases the chances that a bug will decide to fly into my eye or nostril and die there, which is so annoying. However, it's a price that I have to pay for my outdoor adventures.