Cabin Cooking: Clam Chowder and Sourdough Buttermilk Biscuits

Cool fall evenings beg for comfort foods. One evening using pantry and garden supplies I made clam chowder and sourdough biscuits.

Sourdough Buttermilk Biscuits

First came the biscuits. I used my sourdough starter to make Sourdough Buttermilk Biscuits from Rita Davenport's Sourdough Cookery.

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¹⁄₂ cup butter or margarine
• 1 cup sourdough starter
• ¹⁄₂ cup buttermilk 
• butter for brushing the tops

Stir starter and buttermilk together (I used milk) and let rest. Mix flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Cut in margarine until crumbly. Combine liquid and dry ingredients. Turn out on a floured board and knead for 30 seconds. Pat the dough in to a 1/2-inch thick round. Cut biscuits and place on a lightly greased sheet (I used vegetable spray). Brush with melted butter. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes in a warm place.  Bake for 10-15 minutes at 425 degrees until golden brown.

 These are flaky biscuits with a distinctive sourdough flavour.

Easy Clam Chowder

While the biscuits were rising, I made the chowder. I didn't follow a recipe, but here's what I did.

Melt 1/4 cup butter. Saute diced vegetables until translucent. I used a stalk of celery, a carrot (from my garden), 1/2 onion, 1/2 pepper (from my garden), 3 cloves of garlic (from my harvest) and 2 teaspoons of dried thyme (from my harvest).

I moved the vegetable to the side of the pan then added 2 tablespoons of flour to the middle and cooked it on low until bubbly.

Next I added milk (about 2 cups) a little at a time, stirring constantly until the consistency was smooth and slightly thick.

I used a pint of my home canned potatoes to add to the chowder. I cut half of them into small cubes. I added the rest with the liquid to the soup and mashed them with a whisk. This really thickened the chowder. Next I added the diced potatoes.

Lastly, I added a can of clams from the pantry, juice and all. To season, I used Lawry's Lemon Pepper (a go-to favourite of mine). As the chowder simmered, I added more milk to keep the consistency from getting too thick.

While the chowder simmered, I baked the biscuits. It took about an hour to prepare, but well worth the wait.

Do you enjoy using staples on hand to made a quick, comfort food meal? What are some of your favourite things to make or recipes to share? -- Margy