Jensen

It's very easy to get any clam to be sandy since they're filter feeders. We used to put all of our clams in a 5-gallon pail filled with sea water and then sprinkle either crumbled crackers or oatmeal on top. If left for a few hours, the sand is replaced by the oatmeal. Hmmmm. Does that make them grain-finished?

To move away from the allergy theme here a bit... When this thread first started up, I thought to myself "Oh, I never do that. How perfectly horrid to try and fool those at your table. Pfffft." AND THEN I DID JUST THAT TONIGHT AT DINNER. Oh, I am such a fraud! Since the Spouse was going out tonight, I cooked a chevon (goat) leg roast (made a paste of garlic, salt, lemon zest, and herbes de Provence and basted occasionally with olive oil ) for the Spawn and me. I didn't quite tell her that it was lamb but I called it "Lambie" (like a term of endearment) as I was carving it. So she started calling it Lambie. Lambie visited her plate twice...

Doesn't most freezer-burnt meat taste like that?

Hi Toni and welcome to eGullet! Here is a thread that was started over a year ago with nothing but soups in it: click. I'm not familiar with Marie Callendar's soup but it sounds like the minestrone or chicken vegetable soups from the thread might come close to what you've described.

I've heard or read somewhere that Meyer lemons are similar to the variety of lemon used to make traditional limoncello (sfusato amalfitano). That might be an option for you.

Princess Mary Clam Chowder The Princess Mary is a restaurant in Victoria BC housed in a former luxury steamship. Like the BC Ferries chowder recipe also found in RecipeGullet, this recipe was printed in Victoria's morning paper, the Daily Colonist (before it was the Times-Colonist, which should give some idea of the time frame we're looking at here) and was adapted for home kitchens. For the non-BCers reading this, "clam nectar" is like clam juice but is sold in large tins (and it's cheap!). 3 slices bacon 1 tsp thyme dash sage 1 c onion 3 c potato 1/2 c chopped celery 2 tsp salt 2 tins baby clams 1 tin tomato soup 1-1/2 c chopped carrots 5 c hot water 3 c clam nectar 1 lg tin tomatoes, chopped, with juice (28 oz, I think) 1/2 tsp pepper 1 T parsley Cook. Thicken with flour and water. Keywords: Soup, Main Dish, Appetizer, Seafood ( RG1651 )

BC Ferries Clam Chowder After reading the Chowdah cook-off thread, I realised how different the chowders discussed were from the chowders of my youth. All chowders were made with bacon or ham--smoky flavour is good! Celery was de rigeur and the broth was definitely tomato-based. None of that fancy cream soup for us! And so, I dug out my "recipe book" and tracked down the chowder recipes I have. When I was in my 20s, I borrowed my mum's recipe box as well as a huge shoebox filled with recipes on notecards and scraps of paper from my grandmother. This is one of the two chowders that were made in our houses. Anyone from the Lower Mainland or the Island will recognise the name of its source however I should say that this recipe was from the early days of the ferry system--(before my time) when there was no cafeteria and the restaurant on the ferry was a sit-down affair with table service. This recipe was printed in Victoria's morning paper, the Daily Colonist (before it was the Times-Colonist, which should give some idea of the time frame we're looking at here) and was adapted for home kitchens. For the non-BCers reading this, "clam nectar" is like clam juice but is sold in large tins (and it's cheap!), not the piddly little glass bottles I see on the shelf of my local Raley's. And, like most old recipes, there are no real instructions. If you want to try it, you'll have to wing it... 1/4 lb bacon, diced 1/3 c diced onion 1/4 c carrot, diced 1/4 c celery, diced 1/4 c green pepper, diced 2 T flour 2 c clam nectar 2/3 c potato, chopped 1 14-oz. tin tomatoes, chopped with liquid 1 T tomato paste 1 can clams, with liquid 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce pinch of thyme salt and pepper to taste No instructions whatsoever but I do remember my mum always made a flour and water slurry to thicken it (if that helps). Keywords: Soup, Main Dish, Appetizer, Seafood ( RG1650 )

I've been reading this thread and realising how different the chowders discussed are from the chowders of my youth. All chowders were made with bacon or ham--smoky flavour is good! Celery was de rigeur and the broth was definitely tomato-based. None of that fancy cream soup for us! And so, I dug out my "recipe book" and tracked down the two recipes I have. When I was in my 20s, I borrowed my mum's recipe box as well as a huge shoebox filled with recipes on notecards and scraps of paper from my grandmother. These were the two chowders that were made in our houses. Anyone from the Lower Mainland or the Island will recognise the name of the first one however I should say that this recipe was from the early days of the ferry system--before my time when there was no cafeteria and the restaurant on the ferry was a sit-down place with table service. The second one is from the Princess Mary, a landmark for Victorians. Both recipes were printed in the Colonist (before it was the Times-Colonist, which should give some idea of the time frame we're looking at here ) and were adapted for home kitchens. For the non-BCers reading this, "clam nectar" is like clam juice but is sold in large tins (and it's cheap!), not the piddly little glass bottles I see on the shelf of my local Raley's. And, like most old recipes, there are no real instructions. If you want to try them, you'll have to wing it... BC Ferries Clam Chowder This was the preferred chowder in our house. 1/4 lb. bacon, diced 1/3 c. diced onion 1/4 c. carrot, diced 1/4 c. celery, diced 1/4 c. green pepper, diced 2 T. flour 2 c. clam nectar 2/3 c. potato, chopped 1 14-oz. tin tomatoes, chopped with liquid 1 T. tomato paste 1 can clams, with liquid 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce pinch of thyme salt and pepper to taste No instructions whatsoever but I do remember my mum always made a flour and water slurry to thicken chowder (if that helps). Princess Mary Clam Chowder 3 slices bacon 1 tsp thyme dash sage 1 c. onion 3 c. potato 1/2 c. chopped celery 2 tsp. salt 2 tins baby clams 1 tin tomato soup 1-1/2 c. chopped carrots 5 c. hot water 3 c. clam nectar 1 lg tin tomatoes, chopped, with juice (28 oz, I think) 1/2 tsp pepper 1 T parsley This one actually has instructions: Cook. Thicken with flour and water.

In the chowders from my youth, my mum never used salt pork at all. If we had a hambone, that was used and, if not, it was bacon. Based on that, I've always thought of the primary purpose as being flavour, with the fat in the bacon (or salt pork) as an added bonus. Of course, since my youth was spent on an island in the Pacific (and in Canada to boot!) and not the Atlantic, this is likely terribly inauthentic. Dinner last night was corn chowder made with John Cope's Dried Sweet Corn and ham.

Oh my god...I thought I was the only person in the world who had that cookbook! I have no idea about your salt pork questions other than to offer up that you generally need to pour boiling water over it and then soak for a while to get some of the salt out. A good substitute is bacon.

I have tried some of the chevon from Copeland Family Farms (listed on that site) and have been very happy with it. They also offer meats from other farmers in the area (lamb, buffalo, beef) but I haven't had a chance to try any of those cuts.

I tried the oatmeal as risotto thing last year... Avenotto

I've made a spinach and cheese strata within the last year or two; recipe from Epicurious.

The column doesn't actually provide any evidence to support their position. It refers to studies but often doesn't tell the reader where the study took place, who conducted it, or give a reference to the published results. It's really very vague and tenuous. In total, three studies are mentioned and, based on that overwhelming sample size, the author has decided that all other studies are bunk? The article also suggests that studies which appear to refute the orthodoxy are often dismissed based on the gender of the study subjects. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I was always under the impression that the vast majority of medical studies were conducted on men, especially when it came to cardiac studies. Sorry, but the entire article reads like propaganda of some sort to me and, as such, it doesn't come across as the least bit credible.

We've had square plates for several years now. Along with being trendy (whatever), they fit in the dishwasher better. (Oh, they're white.)

Green Garlic Pesto recipe Enjoy!

My favourite is green garlic pesto.

The weirdest thing in my freezer is ground green cow tripe. (Burgers, anyone?)

I bet grilled portabellas would be nice in it too. Despite the presence of anchovy paste in the dressing, I actually get requests from the Spawn for "the sandwich".

This might be too labour-intensive for fast service but the taste is unbelievable: Grilled Chicken Pan Bagnat

A pressure-cooker made especially for vegetables. Guaranteed to suck every last ounce of flavour out of the veggies so that you can pour it down the drain with confidence!

Perhaps this will help you begin that quest: click I believe that commercially produced food made at one plant may taste different than the same food made at a different plant. Have you moved recently?

I remember learning about acorns as food in Grade 4 Social Studies but, unfortunately, that was far too long ago for me to be of any help.

Armenian lentil and spinach soup: (Recipe scavenged off the internet; click photo for more details)

I'd write a complaint letter too, especially since NO ALCOHOL WAS ORDERED. If there were some policy that was being followed, then the waiter should have explained that (and apologetically at that) before taking the wine glass away. I got IDed at 40 when I was buying beer in a little liquor store in Oklahoma. At first, I thought the woman was kidding me but handed over my passport anyway. When I noticed her lips moving while she did the math, I just about died laughing. It made my day though. I immediately spun around and announced to the fellow behind me that I'd just been IDed. (His response was "You've got to be kidding!") Then the old bird IDed my 33 year-old friend. Then I went outside and phoned the Spouse to let him know what had happened. I might have called a few friends at that point in time or that might have come later. I know I definitely made a mental note to tell my toxic sister all about it, in painful detail and, if possible, multiple times.