By A quiet week, which Vermont provides reliably in October once the leaf-peepers have departed. They arrive for two weeks, take their photographs, drive back to Massachusetts and New Jersey and explain to each other what Vermont is really like, and then Vermont becomes itself again: uncrowded, unsentimental, efficient about its beauty.
I have been preparing for the Historical Society talk in earnest. Not with the nervous energy of a first day of school — I taught for thirty-eight years and I have given this material in fifty forms to students who ranged from fascinated to catatonic. But preparing the way you prepare for an audience that actually chose to come, which requires a different kind of care. They are not captive. That makes them more generous in some ways and more demanding in others.
My grandfather kept his sugarhouse records in account books that live on the highest shelf in the sugarhouse, between a spare bucket tap and a hand-crank cider press we have not used in a decade. The books go from 1921 to 1948. Nineteen twenty-one is the year he built the sugarhouse, the year he tapped the first trees, the year he sold his first quart of syrup to the dry goods store on Church Street for a dollar fifteen. One dollar and fifteen cents. I checked this week's market price: grade A amber was running eleven dollars a quart at the farm stand. Some of that is inflation. Some of it is that the rest of the world finally figured out what Vermont already knew.
Helen made corn chowder this week — proper New England chowder. Salt pork rendered down first, onion sweated in the fat until soft, diced potato, two cups of corn she froze in August, whole milk, just enough pepper to know it is there. It is a cold-weather soup that does not require cold weather to justify making, but the October air gives it context. I had two bowls and told her it was good. She said she knows.
There is a note in my grandfather's 1941 book: "Thirty-two gallons of sap to one gallon of syrup this year. Cold spring." He was recording facts. He was also recording weather, and time, and how things go. I understand that impulse completely. Some men keep diaries. My grandfather kept syrup records. Same thing, different column.
Helen’s corn chowder was the meal of the week — two bowls’ worth of proof that some recipes carry their own authority. The tradition she was working in is the same one behind this New England clam chowder: salt pork rendered first, onion softened in the fat, potato and cream brought together without fuss or embellishment. If you find yourself in October with a cold kitchen and people you want to feed well, this is the recipe that belongs on the stove. It doesn’t require explanation any more than the season does.
Creamy New England-Style Clam Chowder
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 4 oz salt pork or thick-cut bacon, diced small
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups clam juice (from canned clams plus bottled, as needed)
- 1 1/2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 cans (6.5 oz each) chopped clams, drained, juice reserved
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Oyster crackers and chopped fresh parsley, for serving
Instructions
- Render the salt pork. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the diced salt pork until the fat has rendered and the pieces are lightly crisp, about 6–8 minutes. Remove the solids with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the fat in the pot.
- Sweat the aromatics. Add the diced onion and celery to the pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 5–7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook one minute more.
- Build the base. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to coat. Cook for 2 minutes to remove the raw flour taste, then slowly pour in the reserved clam juice, stirring constantly to prevent lumps.
- Add potatoes and simmer. Add the cubed potatoes, bay leaf, and thyme. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered until the potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes.
- Add the dairy. Reduce heat to low. Stir in the whole milk and heavy cream. Do not allow the soup to boil after this point, as the dairy may break. Warm gently for 5 minutes.
- Finish with clams. Stir in the drained chopped clams and the reserved salt pork pieces. Heat through for 2–3 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper.
- Serve. Ladle into warmed bowls and top with chopped fresh parsley. Serve with oyster crackers alongside.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 390 | Protein: 18g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 740mg