So, how did the Chili Corn Chowder turn out? Well, let's first talk about the shopping and cooking (notice, I did not say meal preparing) process!
Jamie Oliver's app claims to help me put a delicious meal on the table in about 20 minutes. However, Jamie must not know where I live and who lives with me (little girl who likes to be with mommy all the time). I do appreciate that Jamie believes that "together, we can make a great meal".
Let's talk about the Jamie Oliver 20 Minute Meals App for a second. I've only made one recipe, so keep that in mind, but I'm super impressed. It tells you all the ingredients that you need, allows you to create a shopping list and tells you the supplies that you'll need (which I didn't check first, oops). The best part is the actual step-by-step cooking instructions that include vibrant pictures of each step, and sometimes Jamie even talks to you while you are cooking. Really amazing.
Shopping list:
frozen corn--got it
potato--in the Czech Republic, no problem
vegetable broth--had to call Connie to ask if I could even get it, what it is in Czech (starts with z ends with ovy)
onion--already had one
celery--have only seen it one time in the Czech Republic, and I found it at Macro--30 minutes away; no celery in this corn chowder
fresh red chilis--I got something that was probably more like a small red pepper
butter--no problem
fresh thyme--no fresh thyme at Albert this time, so I went for the dried kind (used google translate in the store to find out what it is in Czech, but didn't have to because the word is very close)
scallions--I wasn't even sure what those are, so I looked them up on google images and found something that looked close, but when I translated the Czech on the label, it said onion bunch (hmmm).
cheddar cheese--just bought some at Macro for a pretty good price; although, you can get it at Albert, you just pay more than one would want to pay for cheddar cheese
sour cream--already had it
olive oil--no problem
black pepper--got it
sea salt--I brought over a huge tub of kosher salt that I'm still using
Cooking:
Like I said, the app's instructions are awesome. Jamie's voice even comes on a few times to give you helpful tips. Every direction has a picture. However, Jamie never had any tips for the little girl that was hitting my butt with a block (like a drum, not like a spanking). I didn't even realize for a few seconds because I was so focused. I also had to deal with: "I wan seee". Cecelia is a talker (I know--shocking), and at one point I made a really scary noise--then, I had to say I was sorry to her!
The only other issue is that the recipe uses a hand blender (who has one of those?). This is used to make the chowder chowdery. I could have used our blender, but it broke that morning (Dear European manufactures, please do not create blender parts out of a flimsy rubbery material. Sincerely, the girl who is embracing life here!) Instead, I used my food processor but had to do it in three stages.
Needless to say, the meal was not on the table in 20 minutes.
Now, for the most important question: how did it taste?
Pretty AMAZING if I do say so myself. Everyone scrapped as much as they could out of their bowls--Cece LOVED it--she just has a harder time getting that last spoonful out of her bowl. Everyone was smiling!
yay!! awesome job. celery is possible to get, but not regularly. both albert and billa have occasionally stocked it in the past.
ReplyDeleteYay for you little miss Chef! Nice work....it looked delicious (the remnants anyway!). We love and miss you guys...
ReplyDeleteYay for good food! I love finding meals that turn out well :) And, scallions are a form of onion - just smaller and less oniony tasting - so you probably did find the right thing :)
ReplyDeleteI really identify with what you are saying in your posts about the community, home, and cooking. It's funny because i've alot lately about short life is, whats important, and what really matters..good food at HOME with family..matters. Being a missionary without a super target, matters. Running to starbucks because your bored, does not matter.
ReplyDeleteYou are doing things that matter...and your desire to find peace in that, matters even more. You are making a home for your family, and also one that Christ will be seen in. One can never pray for more. I'd say, you've got it figured out sister.
Wow. Cooking without celery. I didn't know that was even possible. I'll never take my celery for granted again! You are a rockstar. Oh, and the scallions, well that's just a fancy way of saying green bunch onions. You got it figure out. You're awesome. Way to challenge yourself and serve your family!
ReplyDeleteWe just made this same recipe on Monday and it was DELICIOUS!!! We had it for leftovers for a few days, and it never got old. Thanks for introducing it and the app to us! :)
ReplyDelete