Kitchen QoL improvements.

12/10/19

(Above: The kitchen with newly installed dehumidifier and vacuum hook.)

Active Summary: Today began with creative writing and then a ride through the beef pasture. This was ensued by my venturing up to Oldhouse where I prepared French bread rolls and clam chowder (more in TIL) for lunch. After the food was prepared, I returned to the farm where I fixed the slightly wobbly railing of Jacobhouse*. This was followed by another ride through the beefers with Padre, during which we treated a sick calf. I finished off the morning with a bit more writing time.

(7:21 PM Update:) This afternoon Madre brought down the dehumidifier I ordered last week. It was a small appliance – even smaller than I thought it would be – so I went about installing it and its automatic drain system beneath the subcounter. It was a simple task and the only modification I made to the utility hole was drilling a small orifice into the one of the PVC caps (one of those covering the old portable A/C inlets) and inserting the drain hose through it. It should be noted that I encountered a black widow spider while doing this. She stayed put for the most part, but near the end disappeared to who-knows-where. Hopefully down instead of up!

Late afternoon activities included my rigging up a hook to hang the vacuum between the dehumidifier and washer/dryer. Though it was somewhat uncomfortable to work in such tight quarters, I succeeded and now have easy access to the vacuum (looks neater, too.).

TIL: Today I learned how to make a delicious chowder utilizing fresh clams.

Ingredients:

For clam juice:

• 2 lbs. littleneck clams
• ¾ cup water
• ¼ cup distilled white vinegar
• ½ tsp. tarragon

For chowder:

• Freshly-made clam juice (explained below)
• 10 oz. ham or bacon**
• 2 russet potatoes**
• 1 large onion**
• 1 large carrot**
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 shallot (minced)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups water
• 1/3 cup flour***
• 2 tbsp. oil
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. parsley
• ½ tsp. thyme
• ½ tsp. oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Garnish:

• Finely chopped clam meat (reserved from clam juice process)
• Heavy fresh greens (collard / mustard / kale / cabbage / etc).

Method:

1. Prepare all the fresh vegetables and ham.
2. Add 2 tbsp. olive oil to a skillet and then toss in all the vegetables / ham. Sauté, stirring occasionally. While doing so, gather all the other chowder ingredients and get them simmering in a pot.
3. When the ham and vegetables all appear to be somewhat brown and softened, dump them into the simmering cream/water/butter/flour/spice mixture.
4. Next, make the clam juice by placing water, distilled white vinegar, and clams (this works for fresh or frozen) into the same pan where the ham and vegetables were being cooked.
5. Cover the clams and allow them to steam for about 2 minutes. Check on them after the time has elapsed and remove any that have popped open.
6. Cover again and check every 40 seconds or so until all clams have been removed, then dump the juice and scrapings from the sauté pan into the primary chowder pot.
7. Next, remove meat from the clams and reserve for later (adding it too early results in some very tough morsels). Pour any juice from the clam plate / bowl into the chowder.
8. Allow the chowder to simmer vigorously until all the vegetables are completely soft, then serve with clam meat and fresh greens to the side (add either as taste permits).

Commentary: Apparently, it is not difficult to make a decent soup or stew or chowder if one has a basic knowledge of cooking. I put together the recipe above after looking at a number of others online and seeing that the core concept of a chowder is that it contains cream, potatoes, and clams (or clam juice). As for the highlight of those early morning shenanigans, it would indubitably be my discovering via experimentation that I could steam frozen clams**** with little impact to final flavor. At first I didn’t think they were going to open, but then when I tentatively removed the steamer-pan’s lid for the third or fourth time, they proved my doubts false.

Final Note: Tomorrow / later today, I intend to return to the tool room and continue organizing.

*Much alike the southern deck railing, the weather’s constant temperature fluctuations bowed the top 2×8 board ever so slightly. It took only 4 screws to offset the warp and to fasten the board sturdily in place.

**Chopped into very small cubes.

*** I used left over mashed potatoes instead.

**** All of the recipes I found required fresh clams or canned/bottle clams. However, I did some research and remembered from past experience that I had definitely steamed frozen mussels before. Why would clams be any different?