Last week, as our plane landed in the Sea-Tac airport, our seven year old chick exclaimed,”I hope we can go to Lowell’s for lunch!”  We had visited the great city of Seattle only five month’s ago, and found ourselves at Pike Place Market multiple days. We would buy fresh fruit  and veggies to supplement our out of town diet (see my Staying Healthy on the Road hints here), but much to my Rooster’s delight, also went to Lowell’s (a fantastic, casual restaurant with GREAT food and views) multiple times for lunch and dinner.  Our daughter fell in love with the seafood.  Real seafood, like you find in Seattle and search for in Colorado.  One of her favorites was the fresh clam chowder in a bread bowl.  So after returning to Colorado, I thought I’d try a very quick clam chowder at home.  The chowder was a hit for all of us.  If you try it, and add a twist as I always do, and let me know how it worked for your clan.

The basics:

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3 cups diced potatoes
• 1 bottle (8 ounces) clam juice*
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cans (approximately 7 ounces each) clams*
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1 cup milk

The twists:

• 4 slices bacon, diced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• *If you have time, steam 1 lb of fresh clams, use broth and clams in lieu of bottled juice and minced clams
• One tablespoons dry sherry

Preparation:

Cook bacon until crisp in saucepan, remove.   Add onion to bacon drippings; sauté until softened. Add potatoes and clam juice (or broth), salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked. Remove from heat. Add minced clams (or fresh clams, removed from shell). Whisk flour into milk; add to chowder with half-and-half. Cook over medium heat, continue stirring until clam chowder thickens and bubbles, or about 3 minutes.

Garnish with parsley or a pinch of paprika (it looks pretty).  We like to eat it with a warm, crisp baguette or loaf of sourdough.  Serves 4, unless you are like my Rooster, who apparently turns into a camel when he eats chowder and can eat all four servings on his own.