I bought 10 pounds of the things, thinking I’d freeze most of them. Wow. We’re looking at probably 3 meals…if I stretch them. And we are talking clam linguini type meals or clam chowder–meals where you have lots of surrounding pasta to fill in the blanks. We are talking smallish meals for two people.

I thought maybe I was doing the clam shelling wrong–I read you take off the “skin” that covers the neck (and covers most of the clam from what I can tell). Well, even with that *on* the clams, we’d be lucky to get another small portion out of the ten pounds.

I guess it’s back to the canned clams for us. I thought the cans were expensive at almost two dollars a can. (I generally use a large can and a small can for one dish–so about 3 bucks worth of clams.) Using the fresh clams I’ll be using about ten dollars worth of clams for each dish. Yikes!!! Someone stop that clam!!! I think he stole my wallet!!!!

Rather than make a stupendous meal, I prefer to nibble my way through the game:

Spinach Balls (I thought the recipe was on my site, but obviously I forgot to post it. I will post this recipe soon. In the meantime, you can check through other recipes and see if there is some dip or snacks to your liking!

Deviled Eggs
Potato Chips — Sour Cream and Onion, of course. You may think this is a lame choice, but us cholesterol, low-salt diet people don’t get to eat chips very often. We will try not to consume the entire bag during the first quarter, but no promises.

For the entree, I made a simple pasta dish. I like it; BMHusband tends to think it is on the bland side. It has Italian sausage in it. How can it be bland, I ask?? But if you find it bland, I recommend adding fresh chopped basil when the tomatoes go in.

At any rate, here is the recipe for Sausage Pasta:

Boil about a pound of pasta (bowtie, macaroni or other)

In skillet saute:
3 cloves minced garlic in olive oil
three to four crumbled sweet Italian sausage — about 3/4 of a pound

When the sausage and garlic are almost cooked, add:

sliced green onions (about 5 to 6–one bundle)
1/2 tsp pepper flakes (to taste)
sliced fresh mushrooms

When the sausage is completely cooked and the veggies tender, add:

2 cans of diced tomatoes (or fresh–close to four cups diced). This dish is actually a little better if at least one can of tomatoes is drained of excess juices.
1 cup of cream

Stir and heat through. Mix in the pasta. Serve with garlic bread and grated Romano cheese.

1/2 to 3/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 to 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped pecans
2 cups chopped turkey
2 to 4 heaping tablespoons mayo
2 to 4 heaping tablespoons of this Caesar Dressing
(chopped gala apple chunks are optional)

On large tortilla, place lettuce leaves down the center. Place a nice layer of the turkey salad on the lettuce. Add diced tomatoes. Roll tortilla. Eat with a side of soup or potato chips.

Frozen Cranberry Salad

Ingredients:
12 oz bag of fresh cranberries
1 can of crushed pineapple in its own juice (about 20 ounces)
16 oz bag of miniature marshmallows
1 pint whipping cream
½ C sugar

Directions:
Chop cranberries in a food processor or blender. Mix with sugar and put in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix pineapple and marshmallows.

Refrigerate both bowls for an hour.

After the hour is up, whip cream until it’s nice and fluffy. Mix in the contents of both bowls. Pour everything into a 9×13 pan. Freeze.

Remove from freezer about 30 minutes before serving. It is supposed to be served partially frozen.

We bought an entire bushel of the roasted green chiles. I had to peel them (this gets the blistered skin off and leaves a wonderfully peeled, robust chile behind.) I saved off the longest, thickest of the chiles. Then, yesterday and today, I stuffed them with cheese, battered them with a pancake-type batter, and lightly pan fried them in grapeseed oil. Yum. A Mexican grilled cheese sandwich with a twist!!!

What did I do with the rest of the bushel? I froze them. I’ll use the chiles in casseroles, enchiladas, and this, my favorite dish: Green Chile Chicken with Cheese.

I love a good meal. Feels like home.

I love grilled salmon and it turned out well. I used the French Alp Saffron in this dish and it was very potent, just wonderful stuff! The rice went well with the salmon, but I missed the chicken that was mixed into the dish in the first recipe. I used fresh, homemade chicken broth as before, but really thought that the addition of chicken mixed into the rice would have made the entire dish…that much better. Of course, I don’t know how well chicken goes with salmon–I know it went well with the scallops so I don’t think it would be a problem. (My dad likes to keep seafood with seafood, beef dishes with beef and so on.) Perhaps I could have tried the mussels or some shrimp instead.

The saffron is really a delight to work with. I’m already looking forward to making the chicken/rice/saffron and scallops again. It was just over the top yummy!!!

As you can see from the picture, I settled on Chicken Saffron Rice with Sea Scallops and Asparagus.

I took advice from Lucile from Glandeves; (after all she grows, picks, dries and sells the saffron).  I soaked about 4 strands of saffron in cream for several hours before I began the dish.

Another friend of mine sent me a recipe that advised making the rice with chicken broth–the homemade kind.  While this may seem like a lot of trouble, saffron is not cheap.  Might as well get the most out of the ingredients to really bring out the dish.  I marinated two chicken thighs/legs in honey and soy sauce and then baked.  I removed the chicken from the bones and boiled the bones with one cube chicken bullion, thyme and celery.   Yum!

I cooked 1.5 cups of rice, minced onions, 3 cups of the broth and about 1/4 cup of the saffron cream.   When it was almost done  cooking, I sauteed garlic in grapeseed oil (high smoking point) and then sauteed scallops.  Using the leftover garlic and oil, I sauteed asparagus.  When the rice was done, I added the last of the cream/saffron (about 2 tablespoons).   I then mixed in the diced chicken.

When the rice was done…wow.  What a subtle, yet beautiful aroma.  I’ve never had saffron, and I can say that it is a truly unique smell.  Definite flowers.  The only other way I can describe it is to compare the smell to a walk in the mountains.  A very clean, fresh scent that is so subtle, you wouldn’t even know to ask the cook about it. The saffron doesn’t overwhelm the dish; it compliments the chicken and the scallops quite well.  It went extremely well with the tart/slight bitterness of asparagus.

I think I may try it another saffron rice disk with wild salmon next. I really did enjoy the scallops as part of the dish. Lucile also mentioned a dish using saffron soaked in white wine. After soaking for several hours, she suggested boiling mussels in the wine and then serving over rice. Doesn’t that sound good???

Oh–one of the things that I learned from my studies: when a saffron dish is very yellow? It’s often because instead of just saffron, tumeric or annato is used to give the impression that a lot of saffron is in the dish! Both those ingredients are cheaper than saffron threads, yet neither one imparts the taste–and in fact if overused can make the dish bitter.

You know I had to try saffron. I talked about trying to grow it myself, but the bulbs are very hard to procure (the ones that produce the cooking saffron, not the decorative plant.) But Lucile, from Glandeves, helped resolve my curiosity. She not only sent the wonderful French Alp saffron, she included some rare, wild grown saffron from the Himalayan region of Tibet and a great looking tea from Tibet as well. The tea is a mix of saffron and top-grade white peony. It’s a “white” tea–I can’t wait to try it. With the perfume of saffron, it is bound to be a luxury. I’m also very partial to natural teas.

Glandeves has some other pretty unique saffron products–a syrup, a liquor, and even saffron meringues. The site is in French and English.

Lucile–THANK YOU!!!

If anyone has any favorite saffron recipes, send them my way. I’m going to be trying my hand at paella, I think, but I may need to start with something a little easier, perhaps a cream sauce over rice with fish. Yum!!

Update: I tried the tea. It is quite wonderful. It is a little like the fine Japanese teas that I had in Japan. It is smoother than most green teas, however. Definitely hints of sunshine in an open field of grass and flowers.

3/4 cup milk

1 egg

3/4 cup Pioneer Buttermilk Biscuit and Baking Mix

1/4 cup ground oatmeal (put regular oatmeal in a food processor and grind to flour)

Mix everything and then make pancakes as usual.  You can use 1/2 cup Pioneer and 1/2 cup oatmeal if you want to get even healthier.  The oats add a touch of old fashioned character.  Serve with real maple syrup.  Yum!

Of course, if you have suggestions, we’ll take them under consideration.  Probably.