COLD ENOUGH STILL ... FOR YARN SCRAPS AND CHOWDER

Forever fascinated with patchwork, scrapwork, and making things of beauty out of throwaways ... this week I taught myself the crochet v-stitch and I'm attempting to make a scarf out of yarn scraps. Pics are of my progress. Making hats is my joy, so I'm sure this will morph into my hat making. Yes, I'm fully aware that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Speaking of using up stuff ....In the icy depths of the freezer lie tilapia and shrimp .... and in me a craving for seafood chowder  ..... so I googled the recipe, combined what I liked about 6 different ones and came up with my own .... I'm a "toss it in by pinches and handfuls"  kind of cook so get creative and include what you like in your chowder to make it uniquely your own. Here's my "guidelines" for the recipe.

Gypsy's Seafood Chowder

1 to 1 1/2 lbs seafood diced

about  1/4 lb bacon diced

1/3 stick unsalted butter

1 medium onion diced

1/2 C celery diced

1 chicken bullion cube

2 C boiling water

3 russet potatoes peeled and diced

1 t salt, 1 t thyme, 3 T fresh chopped parsley, 1 t dill weed, 1 t black pepper, 1 bay leaf

1 can chicken broth

1/2 C flour

2 C water

1 C half & half

Fry bacon til browned. Add onion, celery and butter cook 5 mins. Dissolve bullion in boiling water and pour over bacon, butter, onion, celery. Add potatoes and spices, cover, simmer for 10 mins. Add seafood and simmer another 10 mins. Mix flour and can of chicken broth til no lumps and add to pot. Add 2 C water to pot. Simmer another 5 mins. Lower heat, add cream, heat gently to blend flavor but not too hot to curdle.

At this point I added more herbs & spices to taste and added garlic granules for a punch. It tasted good freshly made with some homey garlic bread and a salad. It tasted even better the next day, after sitting in the fridge overnight and then reheated.  Enjoy !