Thank You Sandy!

 A warm thanks to my reader Sandy for confirming my suspicion about potato flakes being a good thickener  for chowder and other things. My mother was a good cook and a decent baker who loved trying new foods and recipes but she had little patience with me, so most of what I've learned has been through trial and error and the pluck to ask others when a cookbook was not handy or lacked the information sought.

Part of the relative isolation that has become my normal has afforded me the time to try new things or get into the hall pantry and experiment while using things up and avoiding waste. I also plan my menu for the week ahead which eliminates over buying for the most part.

This pot of chowder is not based on a recipe, merely what I had on hand. It has given me two meals and may provide two more in the coming days. Thanks to my readers for indulging me and supporting my efforts.

Cheers!

Chowder. a chowhound and a question

 Corn chowder sometimes known as corn stew. has existed in this country since the mid to late eighteen hundreds and was popularized by Mary Lincoln, of the Boston Cooking School. Her successor, Fannie Farmer, furthered the dish's use by using recipes calling for newly available canned corn, circa 1896. Her additional contribution to American home cooks, The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, is still used today and was a stable in my childhood kitchen. A versatile dish, corn chowder can be made vegan or vegetarian or feature chicken, fish or other seafood such as clams, scallops or shrimp.

All that said, I prepared a version of this for an early dinner. Creamed corn, whole kernel corn, carrots, potatoes and a bit of half and half, along with parsley, pepper and salmon are melding together as I write. Though not a dish associated with warmer weather and not something I make often, I had the ingredients, which were canned and readily available, and figured, why not?

I have enough for several small meals. The resident chowhound is perturbed because while he could clearly smell salmon, he was not offered any. I am pondering thickeners since flour isn't something I keep. Plain yogurt? Potato flakes? Most recipes call for cream which I did not have, hence the half and half.

I'll see what it is like tomorrow. Meanwhile, what say you home cooks??

Cheers!