I made Bob New England Clam Chowder today. It’s a comfort food for him. I’ve never made it before, so I went super simple. Here’s what I made.

Two cans of Campbell’s cream of celery soup. Two 6 oz (approximately) cans of minced clams. A bit of milk. A soup can of water. About a cup of flour (organic, unbleached). Couple of potatoes from the farm, diced (but not peeled — I have a job, you know. Can’t hang out all day peeling potatoes). Couple of small onions from the farm, diced.

I sauted the onions in a smidge of olive oil, until starting to turn translucent. I combined the clams (in clam “juice”) with the two cans of soup, one can of water, splashes of milk as appropriate, and the potatoes. Tossed that all into the pan with the onions and simmered. Oh, gosh, I probably simmered that for a good 40 minutes or so. Then I added the flour, and also some romano cheese (surprise ingredient!). I probably should have whisked the flour, to prevent any lumps, but I think I got lucky. Neither the flour nor the cheese got lumpy, so whatever. I let it simmer about another 10 minutes, varying heat. Most of the time I kept it pretty high to thicken it (and to cook the taters), but after a while, I just wanted it to stay hot and combine well.

I don’t like clam chowder, but I liked this. I peppered it to taste. Bob liked it, so it was a success.