Fish chowder the Bergen's way

Another delicious fish chowder was on the menu today.
A recipe I got from folks here is based on potatoes, onion and fish.
I like some more vegetables in my chowder and added carrots and celery, (and/or leeks).
That's more like the Norwegian "Bergen's Fiskesuppe" (fish soup from Bergen).

First, sautée onion and bacon in butter until the onions are turning yellow. Ca 3 min.

Add diced carrot, celery and potatoes. Fill up with some water and simmer until potatoes are nearly done. Season with salt and herbs. Ca 10 min.

Add warm milk and pieces of fish and, continue to simmer until the fish is done (ca 10 min). Thicken the soup with corn starch if desired.

Voilà!

Ingredients: (for 4 pers)


1 pound white fish (cod, haddock, hake, etc.), cubed
2 chopped medium onions
tiny bit of chopped garlic (or more if desired)
4 cubed potatoes
butter
water
milk or light cream
2 bay leaves
fresh thyme (used dried)
a few black peppercorns (used ground black pepper)
nutmeg
salt
chopped chives
corn starch for thickening
1 carrot, diced
1 celery, diced
1/2 cup bacon, bits
parsley

Gale force winds and haddock

Seems that I didn't push the right button. At least this posting was still a draft today. OK, now!
All day the wind was strong out of the West, the waters of the bay all deep blue and with white caps.

Now I know why many "Islanders" choose their houses well hidden behind thick rows of trees and brush. Wind-breakers.
Lucky that our house is not sitting exposed on the beach either. When I walked my dog up towards the cemetery and in lee of the wind it was nice and warm in the sunshine. We should have two houses , I mused. One on the beach for the summer and one hidden in dense woods protected from the winter gales.
J.P. went to town today and returned with fresh fish. When time came for supper I made butter-fried, breaded haddock and mashed potatoes. Comfort food.

The fish was turned in scrambled eggs and then in bread crumbs before fried in butter. Delicious!

Leftovers and Vegan Mix

Yesterday I wondered if tomatoes could be mixed with something
other than cucumbers or lettuce. After some research I found a kind of
African salad (sambal) with bananas. That would do.

J.P. got a "revived" pork chop, leftover from yesterdays dinner, potatoes and boiled carrots, whereas I gorged myself on bulgur wheat (tabouli) and African sambal.

Tomato Banana (African Sambal)

Bulgur Wheat Tabouli

Of course, he had to try. Bulgur tasted to him like brown rice, and the
African salad disappeared like snow in the sun. :))

If you want to know how to cook pork cops, I have a description somewhere here.
And for the other stuff : that's to find on my "vegan" page.

PS:

Tomatoes are 'stroke preventers'

A diet rich in tomatoes may reduce the risk of having a stroke, according to researchers in Finland.

Read: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19869666

Oven Dried Tomatoes

Oven dried tomatoes, as a form for preservation sounded interesting.

I found this while browsing the www. 

The 6-8 hours processing time sounded a bit long, but since it is a ones a year
thing I thought I could afford to try it.

My modifications to the original recipe.

4 pound of tomatoes, cut in half, seeds out
1 sliver of garlic clove (just for the taste of it)
pepper
thyme, basil, rosemary
salt
sugar
canola oil (didn't have olive oil left)

cut in halve and remove the seeds...

line a baking sheet with aluminum foil...

place prepared tomato halves onto the sheet and bake

when done, keep in glass jars covered with olive oil

Home made oven dried tomatoes

Contrary to the advise to discard the seeds and pulp I cooked them for 10  minutes and prepared a nice tomato soup the way it is described here. That way there was not much waste left.

use the seeds and pulp to make..

tomato soupe

discard seeds

Goofed out!

Tomato Gratin

Tomatoes, tomatoes.

our own crop

Last year it was apples we were "drowning" in, this year there are our garden-fresh tomatoes.
We have been eating tomatoes every day for the last two month and since they are so tasty, we haven't got tired of it.
But now: they are ripening way faster than we can eat them. I have to do something before they waste away.
Today we had tomato gratin for supper with brown rice. I went searching and
I found a good recipe here.
Had to change it a bit because I didn't have all the ingredients required.

spread slices in the dish

top with cheese and bread crumbs

bake it and enjoy!

What I used:
4 big tomatoes, sliced
1 thin sliver of garlic, minced (enough to give flavour but not overpowering)
2 dried rolls, crushed with a baking pin
1 cup breakfast ham, in cubes
1/2 cup bacon, in cubes
1/4 cup of sharp old cheddar, in cubes
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 tblsp Italian herbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tblsp olive oil
2 leafs fresh basil. cut into pieces

Baked for 20 minutes by 425° F.
VERY tasty.

Tomorrow I will do the rest of my tomatoes.
Oven-baked tomatoes. Maybe you want to follow me there?