SALMON CHOWDER II

My younger brother was very generous on Monday and shared a fresh King Salmon
with us. There are a fair amount of people here that enjoy fishing, but either have so
much fish or don't like fish (gasp!) so they give their catch away to a few lucky people.
This salmon was from a friend of his that visits here for a few weeks of the year just 

to fish. 

Our neighbor did that for us last year during fishing season. He lives in another state
for most of the year and lives in the house next to us from May-September so he can
fish. Well when you fish almost everyday in SE Alaska you are bound to accumulate a
lot of fish in your freezer, even if you eat it everyday. He would call us up the driveway
when he got back from fishing and we would help him clean and package the fish, then

take most of it home. He was happy it wasn't going to waste and we were happy to help 

by eating it! I was also smiling last year when he showed up on my doorstep with 2 big

shopping bags of frozen vegetables from his chest freezer. He didn't want them sitting 

all year in the freezer, so gave them to us. It felt like Christmas to me!

I have no idea what salmon costs in the store. Everything I read says wild caught is
so much better for you than farmed salmon. Did you know the flesh of farmed salmon
isn't pink because they are eating domestic food, so dye is fed to the fish to make it
look better? Google this subject and I'll bet you never buy farmed salmon again-eew!

With all of this salmon filling my freezer I have been looking for recipes to make with 

it. I have another Salmon Chowder recipe on my blog here that is good, but I think 

this one is much better. It has excellent flavor from the dill and the cheese added at the
end finishes it off perfectly. I always double this recipe because it tastes even better
the next day. One crucial thing I have learned with soups that have a milk product
in them--never boil after the milk is added. Even a small boil will curdle the milk
and it still tastes good but isn't very appetizing to look at.

Try it--I think you'll like it!

SALMON CHOWDER II

3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups diced potatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
32 ounces cooked salmon (2 cans if you don't have fresh)
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1/2 pound shredded Cheddar Cheese ( I use medium)

Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Saute onion, celery and garlic powder
until onions are tender. Stir in potatoes, broth, salt, pepper and dill. Bring to boil and reduce
heat. Cover and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are just tender. **Remember--this is
where you cook the potatoes to the point that you want them. If you boil the soup to cook
the potatoes more after the milk is added it will curdle.

Stir in salmon, evaporated milk and cheese. Cook on low just until heated through.

Yield: 8 small or 4 large servings.