COOKING PANDEMIC COMFORT FOOD

Photo by Sichu Mali. My version of the New England-style Fish and Clam Chowder

Weather forecast had predicted that it would be cold and windy that Saturday night in January. So, I decided to cook a comfort food dish given that sort of weather and well, the ongoing pandemic. Which comfort food dish would I make? I pondered. My mind was suddenly transported back to that time when I was a college student in Massachusetts trying a bowl of New England Clam Chowder for the very first time in my life. I remembered the feeling of warmth and comfort that bowl of chowder gave me. Voila! I decided then that I would cook a New England-style Fish and Clam Chowder and put my own spin on it.

To source my seafood ingredients, I visited the Municipal Fish Market at The Wharf in Washington, DC. It is the oldest continuously operating open-air fish market in the US. I ended up buying fresh clams harvested from a local bay in Virginia and some Red Snapper fillet. I cooked the chowder with Red Snapper, fresh clams, thyme, and some cream along with other ingredients. Served it with homemade garlic bread. This chowder and its accompanying homemade garlic bread made that dark and cold night so much more enjoyable.