Chowder(ish)

Another day of the sniffles. Bean wanted a dinner unsuited to my fancy. While perusing the grocery aisles we saw lobster bouillon. Hello? Suddenly I was excited about dinner again! I bought also one lil' potato, mushrooms, and tomatoes.

Start with three vegetables who seem to be brethren; but like brothers, they are very different upon close inspection. Potato, tomato, radish!

I had every intention of using the tomato in the concoction, but despite its being my absolute favorite vegetable, it retired sullenly to the recesses of the counter.

It is fair to say I didn't know quite what I had in mind. I stuck two cups of water and some lobster bouillon into a pot, and let it boil. I added the potatoes, to let them soften, and then moseyed about packing a lunch for tomorrow. Bean and I are starting a night-time pottery class!!

One period of unestimated time (and one White Russian) later, I added some chopped broccoli and a few mushrooms, and the radish...and subsequently forgot about these for a while.

When dinner was again remembered, I noted that the broth was very clear, as water tends to be. Consulting dear Mam's Fanny Farmer's cookbook, I combined a series of methods to thicken the concoction. First, I drained most of the broth out of the soup, and then replaced it back on the low-burning burner. To it, I added:

1/3 c. whole milk

~2 tbsp cornstarch

~1/4 c. flour

and after stirring for a while, and letting it slowly reheat, a wonderful thing occurred; the soup was now a chowder! Fully creamy, beautifully thick, and piping hot.

So I plopped it in a bowl and whisked it upstairs to begin consummation.

And sweet dreams, says Mushroom Man...