Spring on the Cape is at its peak this week, with trees budding, boats going back into the water, gardens being cultivated, summer cottages being opened and the pungent smell of salt water filling the air. Clamming licenses are being renewed, and fishermen are painting and repairing their boats – it’s an exciting time to live on Cape Cod!
The beauty and stillness that I found as I walked along the harbor boardwalk yesterday was palpable. “It’s time to make chowder”, I thought to myself. A visit to Cape Cod just isn’t complete without a steaming bowl of chowder. If you can’t get to the beach this summer, try this recipe to bring the beach to you!
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Cape Cod Clam Chowder
SERVINGS8
|
COOK TIME30minutes |
PREP TIME15minutes |
READY IN1hour |
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place the salt pork or bacon in a heavy 5 quart sauce pan and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is brown and crisp (don’t burn!). Remove the bacon bits w/ a slotted spoon and reserve.
- Add the onion, celery, bay leaf and thyme to the drippings and sauté until they are wilted and golden.
- Add the flour and cook for about 1 minute, then add the potatoes and clam juice (both the bottle juice and the liquid reserved from the clams). Set the kettle over medium high heat and bring to a rapid simmer, then reduce the heat and cook for 15-20 min until the potatoes are tender.
- Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the cream and heat, uncovered, without allowing the mixture to boil.
- When the mixture is hot, add the clams and the bacon bits and cook for another 5 minutes without boiling. Season with kosher salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately, putting a pat of butter on the top of each bowl of chowder w/ a small piece of bacon and a sprinkling of paprika to garnish. Don’t forget the chowder crackers!
Enjoy!
Stamping the snow off of my boots I came into the convent from the windy cold outdoors. As I shed my coat, I thought “Nothing could be more comforting than the warmth of being indoors right now.” But then I entered the refectory where I was met with something else even more comforting. It was the unmistakable aroma of one of our favorite meals, simmering in the skillet. Cooked with just the right combination of spices and seasonings, few, if any can resist this Southwestern chili especially on a chilly night like this.
As mealtime arrived the Sisters all gathered in the dining room where a glowing fire crackled in the fireplace. Each of us had a bowl of chili with our own favorite choice of toppings. Nothing could have warmed our hearts or satisfied our pallets more. We ate our meal with gladness and gave God thanks for all His many, many blessings to us.
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Southwestern Chili
Make-ahead note: The flavors continue to develop as the chili sits, so go ahead and make it up to 2 days in advance and refrigerate it in a container with a tight-*fitting lid. It can also be frozen for up to 1 month.
SERVINGS6
|
COOK TIME6-8hrs |
PREP TIME45mins |
READY IN7-9hrs |
Ingredients
Instructions
- Sauté the vegetables, ground beef, and spices, then put the mixture into the Crockpot or covered skillet along with tomatoes and kidney beans. Simmer until it’s thickened and has a nice beefy flavor, and then stir in jalapeños. We like this served with cornbread.
- To use dried beans in place of canned, start with 1 cup dried beans, soaked and cooked to yield 3 cups.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions and bell pepper, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes.
- Add the garlic, chili powder, and cumin, stir to coat the vegetables, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the ground beef and measured salt and cook, breaking the meat into small pieces, until the beef is browned, about 7 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker or covered skillet, add the diced tomatoes and their juices, tomato sauce, and beans, and stir to combine. Cover and cook on lowest possible heat until the chili thickens and the flavors meld, adding small amounts of the beer and coffee as needed to keep mixture from sticking. Stir in the jalapeños or green chiles. Taste and season with salt as needed.
After having had so many special meals over Christmas and New Year’s
we wanted to come up with a simple yet satisfying supper on New Year’s
day. Remembering that we still had some leeks braving the cold out in our
almost barren gardens we decided on a potato leek soup, homemade bread
and a hearty salad. Since there was also some kale fighting for
survival out there why not add that to the soup making it even
healthier and giving it yet another dimension?
Our decision turned out to be a good one and everyone enjoyed it! They especially
appreciated its being light as well as very flavorful and heart-
warming,(the flavor was even better the next day) so when we make
it again I will suggest we make it a day or two before actually serving it.
We garnished it with a dollop of sour cream and chopped kale. A few bacon bits
or curls, if desired, could also add to its look and flavor.
*Whether you get your leeks from your garden or your grocery store it is important
to wash them ever so thoroughly because they often have soil hidden between the leaves
at their stems.
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Rating: 4.2
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Kale Potato Leek Soup
SERVINGS6
|
COOK TIME1hour |
PREP TIME30minutes |
READY IN1 ½hours |
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large (6-plus quart) stockpot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the leek and potato and kale . Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have begun to soften and brown slightly, about 8 to 12 minutes (this time will vary greatly depending on the surface area of the bottom of your pot).
- Add the vegetable stock and bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
- Blend until smooth, either using an immersion blender or by carefully transferring to a blender in batches.
- Add the cream, and season to taste with salt (I start with 1 teaspoon and go from there, tasting frequently) and lemon juice and freshly ground pepper to taste.
- Ladle into bowls, and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and a healthy sprinkling of kale or bacon bits.
In the Benedictine charism, true hospitality is a “holy event”, not just a social happening where only people’s bodies are nourished. No, Benedictine hospitality requires much more than feeding people and sending them on their way. Chapter 53 of The Rule of Saint Benedict makes it very clear just what is asked: in true Benedictine hospitality, “All guests who arrive should be received as Christ.” – Cynthia Bertelson
Entertaining has long been an important part of the outreach of our community. At this time of year, we have about four events happening simultaneously, so we are always searching for creative ways to do things without adding a lot of extra stress and work, but still maintaining the level of excellence we need to do all things to the glory of God. This recipe can be used as an appetizer or first course, for your next holiday gathering. A simple two toned soup shot, hearkening back to the flavors of summer. The soup can be easily made ahead and then assembled at the last minute so you can enjoy more time with your guests.
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Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup Shot
SERVINGS6
|
COOK TIME90minutes |
PREP TIME10minutes |
READY IN2hours |
Ingredients
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 325 degree farenheit
- Toss the tomatoes, onion, garlic and one sprig of rosemary in a non-stick roasting pan with the olive oil and season with salt
- Roast for 90 minutes, or until tender (covering the pan with foil if it starts to get too dark); discard the rosemary
- Transfer the roasted vegetables to a blender and process until smooth. Strain through a sieve into a saucepan, discarding the solids.
- Pour in the stock and hot pepper sauce (optional*).
- Check the seasoning and chill until ready to serve or leave at room temperature.
- To make the basil cream, whisk together the basil and cream until slightly thickened.
- To serve, moisten 6 shot glass rims with a lemon wedge. Turn the moistened rim into a plate lined with sea salt to coat the rim. Fill each glass ½ to ¾ with soup and top with a dollop of the basil cream. Garnish each with a rosemary sprig and serve immediately.
Cooks Note *
- For a milder version, simply omit the smoky pepper sauce and add an extra ½ cup of heavy cream instead.
- Chiffonade is a chopping technique in which herbs are cut into long, thin strips. This is accomplished by stacking the basil on top of each other, rolling them tightly lengthwise, then slicing the leaves thinly and perpendicular to the roll.
- You can make this soup the day before and chill in the fridge until ready to use.
This is definitely the season for soups and we are adding them to our menus at the convent every week. There are so many kinds to choose from, they are so much fun to make, and so satisfying to eat. One of the suppers which sisters most love is a big hearty soup served right out of the skillet in which it has been prepared and then simmered a good part of the afternoon. Each person goes by and dips out a bowlful just to their liking to take back to their table where home baked bread and salad is waiting for them. This simple experience almost always puts everyone in a jovial mood that makes for a good time at the table with a warm “homey” atmosphere filling the refectory. One of our most popular choices is this goulash soup with a light Hungarian accent.
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Goulash soup
SERVINGS6people
|
COOK TIME42-45mins |
PREP TIME30 mins |
READY IN1 hr15 mins |
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the meat, onion, garlic, and carrots and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes until lightly colored. Add the cabbage and bell pepper and cook stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the flour and paprika and cook, stirring continuously, for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the vegetable stock, a little at a time. Increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Season to taste with salt, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat, re-cover the pan, and simmer for another 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes are soft but not falling apart.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding salt and pepper if needed. Stir in the sugar, if necessary. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls, swirl a little sour cream or shredded cheese on top of each, and serve immediately.
Nothing warms the heart quite like a piping hot cup of homemade soup with lunch on a nippy winter’s day. Lately, we’ve had lots of both……nippy winter days and hot cups of soup. Until you start making homemade soups you never realize how easy it is and what fun it can be coming up with the next new soup du jour to surprise and satisfy your hungry eaters.
Two days ago, I made one of my simplest and most favorite…..potato leek. We happen to still have a generous number of leeks in our gardens so they are available to us most of the winter, but if you are not as fortunate, onions can just as easily be substituted. The flavor will just be a little more intense, since leeks are slightly milder in taste.
Last night we had a large amount of leftover broccoli from dinner. This morning I put the broccoli thru the blender and combined it with my leftover potato leek soup, adding some crumbled blue cheese and we enjoyed a zesty new taste treat today at lunch. Use your imagination, and see what you come up with. There’s no end to the variations you can develop on the simple theme of Potato Leek soup.
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Potato Leek Soup
SERVINGS
|
COOK TIME17-20minutes |
PREP TIME |
READY IN |
Ingredients
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, add onion, leeks and potatoes, and sauté gently for 2-3 minutes, until soft but not brown.
- Pour in the stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
- Remove soup from the heat and let cool slightly.
- Transfer to a food processor or blender, in batches if necessary, and process to puree.
- Return soup to the rinsed-out pan and reheat gently. Add salt and pepper as desired.
