Clam Chowder

I have been to Disneyland and Disneyworld several times. The first time was when I was fourteen, and since then I have been to each a handful of times. I remember one time being in Disneyland with my dad, sister E, Tante, and my cousin E. The four of us, excluding my dad, ended up talking in fake British accents for most of the trip. Until my dad got very frustrated and snapped at some point and told us all he had enough.

This was the same trip in which we did not load onto the Matterhorn properly. My sister and cousin are the two skinniest people I have ever met, and we put them in one seat. And my aunt and I ended up squishing into a seat together, and it was most uncomfortable. (But we made good timing jah?)

So you get an idea of what the bobsleds look like.

There was another time that I went with Tante, my cousin E, and my friend D. It was the time we had the best burger I have ever ate. I actually talk about this burger so much, that one of my sisters can tell the story word for word. We woke up at about 3 am to catch our flight. At that time there is nothing open in the airport, so our only chance to get food was on the plane and they only gave us a muffin. By the time we got into the hotel, and to the parks it was 1 pm, and since 3 am we had only ate a muffin. So the first place we went was the Taste Pilot's Grill. We all got a burger and waffle fries, and there was total silence at our table as the four of us demolished these burgers. (I would give my right arm for one of these right about now)

One of my favorite things to do in Disneyland is at the California Adventure park. They have a tortilla factory and a sourdough bread factory there. You take a tour in each factory, and at the end of both tours they hand out fresh samples. So delicious.

Also delicious, is the clam chowder at the Pacific Wharf Cafe. It is served in a sourdough bread bowl, and it is the greatest clam chowder I have ever ate.

I made clam chowder last night for dinner. Edmonton can't seem to get rid of the chilly, rainy weather we have been having, and it just seemed like a good afternoon for chowder. I made it loosely based on this Cooking Light's recipe.

The first problem with this recipe is it's supposed to serve 12 people. And there is only 2 slices of bacon in it! I made mine with the following:

-3 slices bacon

-1 medium onion, chopped

-2 stalks celery (practically minced, so there wasn't large chunks of it)

-1 clove garlic, minced

-1 tsp dried thyme

-1 bay leaf

-2 baking potatoes, peeled and diced

-1 bottle of clam juice

-2 cans of baby clams

-1/4 cup flour

-1.5 cups of skim milk

The recipe also called for crisping the bacon and removing it from the pot, to add to the bowls of soup upon serving. I minced the bacon into small pieces, and once crisped, I added the onion and celery to the pan, keeping the bacon in there for the entire cooking process.

Clam chowder is usually made with a lot of cream. The flour and skim milk mix thickened the soup extremely well. I didn't miss the cream, and the finished result was thick, not watery. I really liked it. I have made chowder before, using the cream and way more bacon than just 3 slices, and I found it plain and bland. This was really good.