Clam Chowder with Baby Shrimp and Bay Scallops

By Boise Co-op Member Jan Johnson
Thank you, Jan!

We’ve discovered that this chowder tastes much best on the 2nd day, so make it a day ahead for company. The base for this recipe came from Browny’s Restaurant in Seattle, Washington. Over the years we have “tweaked” it into our own by adding additional ingredients. This is our traditional Christmas Eve dinner.

6 Slices Bacon – Chopped in small pieces

2 Med-sized carrots, thinly sliced

2 Stalks celery, thinly sliced

1 Small onion, chopped

¼ Small green pepper, chopped fine (can omit without compromising flavor)

3 Cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ Lbs thin-skinned red or Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed & cut into small cubes (leave skins on)

2 (8 oz) bottles clam juice

8 Cans (6 ½ oz) chopped or minced clams and juice – do not drain

1 Can whole baby clams and juice – do not drain

¼-½ Lb Salad shrimp

¼-½ Lb Small Bay scallops

1 Bay leaf

½ Tsp (or more to taste) liquid hot pepper (Tabasco)

½-¾ Tsp freshly ground black pepper (depending on taste)

1½ Tsp Worcestershire

¾ Tsp Thyme leaves- crushed

¼ Tsp Basil

1 Quart Whipping Cream

Salt to taste

Place bacon in a heavy 8-10 qt. kettle over medium heat; cook, stirring constantly until bacon is somewhat crisp. With slotted spoon, lift out bacon & drain on paper towels. Discard all but 2 Tbs of drippings.

Add carrots, celery, onion, green pepper, and garlic to kettle & cook, stirring often until onion & celery are very soft.

Add cubed potatoes to veggie mixture. Pour in clam juice; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low. Cover & cook until potatoes are soft, but not mush – apprx 15 minutes.

Stir in clams & their liquid, bacon, remaining seasonings and cream then heat until steaming. Very lightly saute’ scallops, then add shrimp & scallops to chowder. Simmer gently together to blend flavors, stirring frequently

Serve with hard rolls, Harvest Bread, or home-baked rolls. YUMMMMMM!

Raine's Nachos with Chorizo, Refried Beans, and Raw Cheese

By one of the Boise Co-op's favorite members, Raine Saunders, who generously offered to let us re-post it from her awesome website Agriculture Society. Please check it out: It's a goldmine of great info. 

Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever stop trying to top myself with the most irresistible healthy fast-food. I haven’t really eaten fast food in years, but I used to eat it a lot when I was a young adult.

I couldn’t help myself…I’d been craving chorizo all day and when I got to the store tonight, I was on a mission to find some good, local fare. I scored a nice package of it from the butcher counter and kept thinking of the frozen lamb and chicken I had at home, which was going to have to wait for another night since it wouldn’t be thawed out in time for dinner (I was thinking Paella).

But I had to do something amazing with that chorizo. So I went home and looked around on the Internet for inspiration. I thought about frying it up with some butter and garlic and some onions and bell peppers, maybe some home-made red sauce. That sounded good…but that wasn’t quite what I craved. Then I found this great recipe by Emeril for chorizo nachos. Oh my gosh, yes…that was it!

These were amazing and they disappeared fast…here’s our version of this recipe…it was SO worth it!

Ingredients:

• 3 Chorizos, pan fried in garlic and cumin
• 2-3 cloves of Garlic
• Sprouted Corn Tortillas, cut into fourths and fried in coconut oil or tallow (we used about 10)
• 1-2 cups of soaked and cooked Beans of your choice, then refried in 2-3 tablespoons of bacon drippings, Salt to taste
• 2 cups of Monterey Jack Cheese (we used raw cheese)
• Sliced yellow or white Onion
• Sour Cream
• Salsa (we used local salsa), or fresh Tomatoes or homemade Pico de Gallo (those weren’t in season for us)
• Salt
• Cumin
• Chili Powder
• Butter

For recipes like this, I don’t really measure, I just add spices and seasonings until I like the way it tastes. This made just enough for two adults and one child.

  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large pan or skillet, heat some butter and add minced garlic to sautee. Cook the chorizo with garlic and add cumin, stirring and turning periodically, over medium-high heat until the sausage is browned and the fat is rendered.

3. While chorizo is cooking, in another pan melt coconut oil on medium heat. Place the quartered tortillas in the pan and allow them to fry about 1 minute on each side, turning with tongs. Take out of the pan with tongs and place on a plate with a paper towel to soak up the extra oil. Set chips aside when done frying.

 4. Heat beans up in a pan on medium-low heat and add bacon drippings (we store ours in the refrigerator, so they are hardened). Allow them to melt a bit by stirring them. Add chili powder and a bit of cumin into the beans (I just added to taste).

5. When the drippings have melted into the beans, mash them into the beans and mix them thoroughly. Add a bit of water if beans are thickening, as you will want to be able to pour them easily on the nachos when they are ready to go in the oven. Turn down to low heat.

6. Grate the cheese and slice up the onions and set aside.

7. Remove chorizo from pan when cooked through and drain on paper towels. Cut chorizo into small bits to top on nachos.

8. Get an oven plate or large oven-safe dish and place chips on the bottom. Add layers of beans, chorizo, and cheese. You can also alternate layers of chips, beans, chips, chorizo, cheese. I think they cook better with the main ingredients on top. Add sliced onions after cheese. Place in oven and heat until cheese melts – approximately 10 minutes.

9. Serve and enjoy!

John J's Spicy Fettuccini with Bay Scallops

By Co-op Member John Jacobsen
Thanks, John!

• 8 oz. Roasted Garlic Fettuccini
• 1 ½ pounds Bay Scallops
• 3 tablespoons Flour
• 1 – 1 ½ teaspoons Tex-Mex Dry Rub (to taste)-- Recipe is below
• ½ pound fresh Asparagus, cut into 1-inch lengths
• ½ cup Sundried tomatoes, julienne cut
• ¼ cup Pine Nuts
• 3 tablespoons Basil Pesto
• Olive oil

 Rinse and drain scallops. In plastic bag, combine flour and Tex-Mex rub; add scallops and shake to coat. While cooking fettuccini in large pan of boiling water, heat olive oil in skillet. Sauté asparagus about one minute; add scallops and continue cooking another 4 minutes (approx.), stirring frequently. Add sundried tomatoes, pine nuts and pesto; cook about one more minute or until scallops are done and all ingredients are heated through. Drain pasta and mix into scallop mixture.


TEX MEX DRY RUB

• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons Oregano
• 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons Cumin
• 1 tablespoon +1 teaspoon Coriander
• 2 teaspoons Black Pepper
• 2 teaspoons Salt

Store in airtight container for up to 6 months.

This is good on grilled fish and chicken and in marinades.

Isabel's Avocado Sandwich

By Boise Co-op Member Isabel Holt
Thank you, Isabel!

• One small Avocado
• One tablespoon finely chopped Onion
• Pinch of Rubbed Sage
• One to two teaspoons Lemon or Lime Juice
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Two slices lightly toasted Bread (I like Classic Rye from Co-op)
• Two bread slice-sized Cheddar Cheese
• One large Roma Tomato, sliced

Mash avocado and combine with onion, sage, juice and salt/pepper. Spread mixture on toasted bread slices, add cheddar cheese to each and top with tomato slices. Run under the broiler for a minute or so(I like to lower the broiler rack to allow cheese to melt completely without burning the bread.)

Serve with - you guessed it! - Tabasco! and maybe chips.

These are easy, quick and can even be reheated.

Isabel's Sate Noodles

By Boise Co-op Member Isabel Holt
Thank you, Isabel!

• Two generous tablespoons Peanut Butter*
• One to two tablespoons Ketchup, to taste
• One slice Ginger, chopped fine
• One small Onion, chopped fine
• A pinch of Flaked Red Pepper
• One half to one tablespoon Lemon or Lime Juice, to taste
• Noodles for two people (I like somen* )

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine peanut butter, ketchup, ginger, onion, red pepper and juice.

Cook noodles according to package directions, saving cooking water. Add enough of the cooking water to to peanut butter mixture to make a light sauce. Toss with noodles and serve, offering Tabasco sauce, if wanted.

Tofu cubes, stir fried veggies, cooked chicken or cooked shrimp may be added.


*I use Adams peanut butter, available from the Co-op and your choice of noodles from the Co-op.

Here's a tip for keeping fresh ginger around: Put whole or cut up ginger in a small jar and top off with sake. This will keep in the refrigerator for months. Top off if sake level falls below ginger. The sake is also a nice flavoring ingredient.