Clam Chowder

That white bread makes me think of my favorite soup. Clam Chowder! I might as well share that recipe too.

1 small onion

2-3 stalks celery

3 cups potatoes

1 can minced clams

1 can chopped clams

3/4 cup butter or margarine

3/4 cup flour

1 quart half-and-half

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

I like to puree onion in the food processor. I dice the celery really small and I cube the potatoes so they are bite size. (I don't make them all the same size I just don't have huge chunks of potatoes.) Add all vegetable and clam juice to the sauce pan. Add enough water that all vegetables are covered. (It should be at least 2 1/2 quarts.) Let boil for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally. Keep checking whether they are cooked with a fork. If it is hard to poke through a potato it is not done. If it breaks easily the vegetables are done.

While vegetables are cooking melt butter in a 3 quart saucepan. When butter starts to simmer, bubble around edges, add flour and stir till combined. Remove from heat. Add the half-and-half, salt, and pepper and whisk till the mixture becomes smooth with no lumps. Put saucepan back on heat and cook until bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Pour milk mixture into vegetable mixture and stir. Add clams and stir. Keep on heat until soup is warmed through. Serve.

I read somewhere you can use frozen cubed hash browns if you are in a hurry. I love the taste of regular potatoes, but many people prefer red potatoes because they don't fall apart as easily and they taste a little sweeter. The vegetable and types of clams are all your preference. Some people hate celery. If that is the case use less of it.

Perfect White Bread Every Time

This is a recipe my sister-in-laws sister-in-law gave to me. I just had to say that because I think it is funny. I have tweaked it a little. I have given this recipe to Girls and Guys and everyone loves it.

I like to use my kitchen Aid for this recipe. You can use any mixer.

Turn oven to 400 degrees

3 cups Flour

2 Tablespoons Yeast

1 Tablespoon Salt

Mix these ingredients until incorporated

Add 3 Cups Warm water, the temperature of a nice warm bath not hot

Mix thoroughly and let rest for 10-20 minutes. The yeast should be at a foaming stage. It will have multiplied a lot and formed many bubbles. If the water and the room are at the right temperature this will only take 10 minutes.

Add

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup honey

3-5 cups flour.

41/2 cups flour to start. Mix these ingredients at a low-medium speed for 8 minutes. If after 4 minutes dough is still sticking to the side of the pan add more flour a little at a time until it no longer sticks. There have been a few times when I have had to add a little more than 5 cups. You have to watch the mixer. I swear mine walked of the cabinet and jumped to the floor. I have the dent to prove it!

Grease a bowl. Put dough in the bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap. Let rise for 20 minutes. (This step is not essential. It makes the bread tall and beautiful but if you are in a hurry it will still taste good if you put dough immediately in pans.)

After the bread has risen punch down and divide into two large loaves or two medium loaves and a small loaf. I grease the counter to shape the bread and grease the bread pans. (I prefer glass loaf pans they cook more even.) Put the loaves in the pans and let rise. The dough needs to be at least as tall as the rim of the bread pan. This takes at least 10 minutes. The longer you let them rise the bigger your loaves will be. I have found that you also get more air pockets.

I melt about 1 tablespoon of butter and spread it evenly over the tops of the loaves of bread and then spray with water (using a spray bottle) right before I put them in the even. This keeps the tops from browning too dark. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. The bottoms of the bread will look a light golden brown. Most of the loaf should be this color before you take the bread out of the oven. Once you take the bread out of the oven, let bread sit in the pan for 5 more minutes before dumping them onto a towel. (This will keep the bottoms of the bread cooking longer which will help the bread cook through the center.)

This bread start to finish can take 1 hour. It should not take more than 1 1/2 hours.

If you use wheat flour do not let the bread rise in the bowl. Simply put it straight in the greased loaf pan and follow the rest of the steps.