Minnesota Wild Rice Ham Chowder

REJOICE-IT'S 

IN MINNESOTA 

Several phone calls from family members and friends have kept us updated with snowfall totals and telling us how happy we should feel being somewhere warmer. (Yes,we are) And count my daughter in as one of the happier ones with a day off from school. One total we heard was 14 inches-quite impressive. I guess the cold traveled as far as Arizona with a overnight low of 32. You can be assured we still have our coats with us. 

Cook's Notes:

Good day for a comforting warm bowl of chowder no matter where you live. Chowders generally are a thicker kind of soup that use flour as a thickening agent. The word comes from the French word "chaudiere" the pot in which the chowder was cooked. The main ingredients can range widely from corn to clams.  
Prep ingredients ahead including the wild rice, It makes assembly go faster. The recipe serves 6 and was adapted from publication "Soups and Stews" BHG  

If wild rice is not readily available in your area (I brought my own from Minnesota) the stores do carry a wild rice blend e.g. Lundberg that works just fine as an alternative,
Cooking tip:One cup of uncooked wild rice makes about three cups of cooked wild rice otherwise follow directions on package of wild rice blend.

 Minnesota Wild Rice Chowder with Ham

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 TB. butter
• 1 cup sweet onions, diced
• 2 cups red potatoes, diced in 1/2 inch cubes
• 3/4 cup each celery, carrots, mini sweet red and yellow peppers 
• 1- 8 oz. package white button mushrooms, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup frozen roasted corn
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 5 cups chicken broth, low sodium
• 2 cups cooked ham, diced or chicken  
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. each parsley flakes and herbes de Provence 
• Salt and pepper to taste
•  1/2 cup each heavy cream and half and half
• 1/2 cup flour

Directions:

• In a large saucepan add rice, water and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer covered for 45 minutes. then rinse, drain and set aside. 
• Bring cream and half and half to room temperature, set aside.  
• In a large soup pot melt butter add in onions, celery, carrots, peppers, potatoes, mushrooms and garlic. Saute 3 minutes and reduce heat to low cover and sweat veggie mixture 10 minutes.
• Add in wine, cook and stir 1 minute.
• Add in broth, ham, corn and spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered 10 minutes.
• Mix flour with cream and half and half. Whisk into soup adding in rice. Cook on low uncovered 10 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.   

The chowder was served with cornbread and Brownie Walnut Bites, recipe previously posted  
http://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2017/08/brownie-walnut-bites.html

Enjoy your chowder with a January poem from Doris Stengel

In 2016 I had the privilege of interviewing Doris Stengel, Brainerd resident, for a local magazine as she had recently published "Arrival and Departure" from RiverPlace Press, Brainerd, MN 

This collection of poems tackles a variety of topics with Doris’s deft and creative touch. Her work resonates long after you’ve read it. She is a master at using metaphors. This is Stengel’s third book of poetry, which include: "Horizons Measured" and "Small Town Lines."

Her newest poetry collection takes readers off to distant times and places, returning them back again with a renewed heart. Many of the poems are shaped by Doris’s roots and history growing up on the North Dakota prairies. While some of the poems are serious and sad, they capture poignant moments that fill the reader with a sense of hopefulness and a joyful spirit. Stengel’s poems also contain a fair amount of humor as evidenced in Ah, January.

The following poem remains one of my most favorite of the season. The book can be purchased directly from the author by sending a check for $16.50 to Doris Stengel, 1510 S. 7th St. Brainerd, MN and she will mail you a copy.

Ah, January

Heavy-footed January edges on to the stage
after lights, camera and action are done,
after gifts, eggnog, and Good Will to men.

December, the star, whisked on her way
signing autographs, ending another successful run,
leaving in her wake the unpaid Visa bills.

January looks out on a snowy set
no longer deep and crisp and even,
deeper, crustier, more than slightly soiled.

Cold theater, questionable script,
thirty-one days of rehearsing,
all practice, no clapping audience.

Worst of all, that little slip of an ingenue,
February, waits in the wings in miniskirt,
giggling promises of hearts and chocolates.

Poem reprinted with author permission from book "Arrival and Departure" by Doris Stengel.