Evolution of Cajun Fish Corn Chowder

It's been awhile since I posted and after making Cajun fish corn chowder this past weekend decided to share the story of it's evolution of becoming a family favorite.  I'm known as the Soup Queen at our house. I have been making soups for years and can throw just about anything together and make a soup out of it.  Our family favorite comfort food is potato soup so I have several variations including a corn chowder in which fresh or frozen corn is added to potato soup.  I was visiting my youngest daughter, Aubree, several years ago when she was going to Baylor University in Waco TX and we went to eat at one of her favorite restaurants called Buzzard Billy's. We had a Cajun crab corn chowder that was fabulous. The basic soup was like my corn chowder but with Cajun seasoning for a kick and crab meat.  The next time Aubree came home for a visit we experimented with making our own and it turned out really well. Our local grocery store had crab legs on sale so we cooked them up, cracked them and added the meat to the soup. I visited Aubree a couple of years later when she was working and living in Boston and she wanted to make the soup since we could get really fresh seafood.  We got whole crabs instead of crab legs that neither of us had cooked before and they didn't quite turn out like we planned and we didn't have enough meat for the soup.  She had tilapia in her freezer so we sauteed that up and added it to the soup. It was fabulous and a new cheaper version was born.  This past summer Aubree was living and working at home and wanted fish corn chowder so I went to get fish from the store but accidentally picked up swai instead of tilapia.  We liked the swai so much better, it's a larger fillet and meatier fish so now that's all we use. So that's the evolution of Cajun fish corn chowder.  That's the beauty of soup it is so versitile.  I usually just eyeball and throw stuff in when I make soups so these aren't exact measurements.  I use instant mashed potato flakes to thicken most of my soups instead of flour or cornstarch.  It works really well and is stirred in at the end. Now to the recipe.

Cajun Fish Corn Chowder

8 to 10 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed, sometimes I use red or new potatoes and don't peel them
water
1 stick butter
1 pkg frozen corn or 2 to 3 cups of fresh corn
1 onion chopped, any kind, we really like red onions or 1/2 to 1 cup of green onions
1 sweet pepper or bell pepper chopped
1 to 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
4 fillets of fish, swai or tilapia
1 to 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp each salt and pepper, (seasoning salt is great added as well or instead of salt)
1 Tablespoon parsley
1/2 to 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp turmeric
instant mashed potato flakes
1/2 to 1 cup milk
2 to 3 Tablespoons sour cream
2 Tablespoons subfrito (see recipe in Oct post)


Put cut potatoes, salt and pepper in large pot with enough water to cover and boil for 20 minutes or until tender.  Meanwhile in skillet saute onion, sweet pepper, subfrito and garlic in 2 tablespoons of butter with salt and pepper until tender. Add fish fillets and sprinkle each side with Old Bay, Cajun seasoning and pepper and cook until fish is done on both sides. When potatoes are done, add corn, rest of butter, turmeric, parsley, Old Bay, and Cajun seasoning.  Break up cooked fish and add mixture to potatoes.  Thicken soup with instant mashed potato flakes, about 1 cup or so then add milk and sour cream.  Add more butter, salt and pepper to taste. This makes a thick chowder, just add more milk if desire.

Enjoy

Crazy for Cranberries

I went a little crazy with cranberries this year for Thanksgiving and bought several bags so made cranberry apple pie and fresh cranberry relish.  The pie was a big hit and now a new family favorite so much so that I had to make another pie over the weekend. It was finished before the pumpkin pie.  I didn't have a deep dish pie plate so used a 12 inch cast iron skillet which worked great. I saw it in my cookbook and thought it was a great idea.   I also made the fresh cranberry relish in memory of my grandma thinking I would be the only one eating it.  It was also a big hit and has now replaced canned cranberry sauce in our Thanksgiving tradition.

Cranberry Apple Pie recipe
2 c fresh cranberries
juice from 1 lemon
1/2 c water
1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c flour
little honey
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/8 t salt
1/2 t ginger
1 t vanilla
2 T butter
1/2 c brown sugar
6 c peeled, cored and sliced apples
double crust pie crust (I cheated and used boxed crust, I used 3 crusts to do the deep dish skillet, I just cut them to fit and did a lattice top, there was a little left over so added butter, cinnamon and sugar and baked for 15 or so minutes for a sweet snack.)

Combine cranberries and water in saucepan, add a little lemon juice, bring to boil.  Reduce heat, cook 5 min or until cranberries have popped. Combine white sugar, flour, salt, vanilla and spices, add to cranberries.  Cook over med heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir in butter and remove from heat.  Combine rest of lemon juice, apples and brown sugar then add in cranberry mixture.  Spoon into pastry shell, (use cast iron skillet for deep dish pie plate) top with lattice top, seal and flute edges.  Sprinkle top with a little sugar.  Bake at 375 for 55 min or until crust is lightly browned and pie is bubbly.  Cool before serving.  Enjoy.  It is quite heavenly.

We didn't take a picture of the cranberry relish by itself.  Here it is topping a wonderful leftover patty.  These are made with Thanksgiving leftovers, chopped turkey, mashed potatoes, cornbread dressing and gravy.  Mix all together and form into patties and fry in skillet with a little butter.  My daughter, Aubree, and I saw this on a talk show during the Macy's parade one year and tried them and loved them.  And a new family favorite was born, we made these Friday for lunch and Saturday for dinner after Thanksgiving topped with cranberry relish therefore creating a new family tradition addition. I remember my grandma making fresh cranberry relish and loved it but haven't made it in years.  I made mine a little sweeter than Grandma's but still thought of her when I ate it.  It was also a pleasant surprise that my family loved it as much as I did.

Cranberry Relish Recipe

1 12 oz bag fresh cranberries, rinsed
2 oranges, peeled and seeded
1 to 2 chopped apples
1 chopped persimmon (this is really sweet and a nice addition but optional, I had them so used it)
1 c sugar
1/4 c honey

Chop cranberries, oranges in food processor or hand chopper (I have a Tupperware one that worked great), added chopped apples and persimmon, (I didn't chop the apples and persimmon as fine as cranberries and oranges so it would be a bit chunky).  Add sugar and honey, add more to taste if necessary
Can also add chopped pecans but my family doesn't like nuts so I left them out.
The recipe states it will keep 2 weeks in the refrigerator, mine didn't last the weekend, it was all eaten up.

Hope you enjoy these recipes and take advantage of cranberry season.  I know there's more pie and relish planned for our Christmas meals.

Farmer's market corn

I love fresh corn!!.  I haven't bought a can of corn in over a year.  Last year I think I bought corn almost every week at the farmer's market and shucked it and put the ears in freezer bags until I didn't have any more room so started cutting it off the cob first.  I had enough corn to last until about February this year when I finally had to buy a bag of frozen from the store.  This year I've bought corn almost every week as well at least 4 to 8 ears at a time, generally 6.  I shuck it, wash and cut off the cob, then put it in a freezer zip lock bag and put in the freezer raw, I don't cook it at all. When I need corn I just pound the bag on the counter and break up what I need if I don't use the whole bag. It's great tasting in whatever I'm cooking and I know that there's nothing added to it like salt or preservatives.

I have a large shallow bowl that is perfect for cutting the nuggets off the cob.  I found this is much easier than using a cutting board then I scoop the corn into a labeled freezer bag, seal and freeze.  If I have an existing bag that I've used some of the corn and there's room I just add the new corn to it.  I have about 3 bags in my freezer now, a gallon and 2 quart sizes. 
I made a lot of succotash chili this summer so used a bunch of corn for that so now I'm restocking my freezer for the winter.  This coming Saturday is the last farmer's market for the season.  Always a sad day for me but having my bags of corn in the freezer is a nice consolation.

Sofrito recipe

Sofrito recipe

For my 1st recipe post I wanted to start with a family standard that's very easy and great to use in everyday cooking.  Sofrito is pureed onions, garlic and any kind of peppers.  It's very versatile and you can add additional vegetables depending on what you have or what's in season.  I've added chopped radishes when I had extra and needed to use them, tomatoes, celery, turnips and all kinds of sweet and hot peppers in various combinations as well as different kinds of onions, red, white or spring onions.  The basic recipe is 2 onions, 2 cloves of garlic, and 2 bell peppers, or any color or combination of banana peppers, sweet peppers or hot peppers.  Chop everything up and puree in blender (or super easy with food processor) with a little water, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup and a drizzle of olive oil.  I put it in a pint canning jar in the refrigerator which will keep for a month but I usually use it up before the month is up and put the rest in quart freezer bags and freeze.  I add 2 to 4 tablespoons to whatever I'm cooking that calls for onions and/or garlic.  Soups, meat, eggs, even chicken salad or homemade salad dressings.  I get several kinds of onions and peppers plus garlic at the farmer's market all summer and make several batches then freeze them and have enough for the winter.  If I run out I do get stuff at the store to make more but I like all the variety I get from the farmer's market better.

Another option is to add fresh or dried herbs.  I mostly add oregano and parsley.  I love parsley and add it to just about everything.


made in food processor, celery added to onions and garlic

Enjoy,

Bamah



My new blog

My daughter Tabitha has set me up with a blog in order to share craft ideas, recipes and my farmer's market adventures.  I have quite a following on Facebook so decided to do a blog where I can post recipes and more about what I do with all those vegetables I buy every week at the farmer's market. My friends and family have teased me about my "addiction" to the farmer's market but they also enjoy all the tasty things I cook from the produce and eggs I get each week.  So what that I've gone almost every Saturday for the last 2 years, it's not really an addiction, maybe more of an obsession.  I love it though, I've made lots of friends and it's like a family you visit each week and get wonderful things to eat plus plants and a whole lot more. I even bought Christmas gifts this week from the knitting ladies and lavender products from my friend, Cathy Field.  I love to cook and love fresh vegetables and love buying local produce.  That's a lot of love, it's my happy place. I also love to sew, crochet and general crafting so can share ideas in more detail.  My crochet projects of late have been making tote bags from plastic sacks made into "plarn".  I've also made rugs and am working on a mat for the homeless. Stay tuned for more updates, recipes, craft projects and of course farmer's market adventures.  I also go to other farmer's markets when we travel like going to Okla City for my husband's doctors appointment this past Friday.  So yes, I am serious a farmer's market fan.