When the children were little, we were invited to spend the weekend with Grandpa Tom and Grandma Judi. Not only were the children ecstatic, but Scott and I were as well.
We had been talking about visiting them for some time, and every time they would come to Portland to visit us, we would chat and make promises that we WOULD visit. Finally, we called them, set up a date and planned our weekend away in the charming town of Astoria.
The drive was beautiful, the kids were content while listening to ADVENTURES IN ODYSSEY, and Scott and I were able to talk and dream...we ALWAYS seem to do that on trips...not sure why, but we do.
Amongst other fun things we had planned to do, clam digging was at the tippy tippy top of the list! I wasn't as excited as the rest of the family, but sometimes a mom just has to do things to help make a family memory.
We put the kids to bed early, and the adults had a great time talking and reminiscing about all sorts of things.
The next morning, while it was still dark and foggy outside, we woke up the children, put on our old clothes and headed out the door.
I was sure that we were the only ones out and about at 4:00 A.M! To my surprise, as we got closer to the water, you could see flickering lights in the distance of other eager clam diggers. I guess we weren't going to be the only ones. The kids could not wait.
Grandpa Tom, our seasoned guide, told us exactly what to do. We watched him and then the fun began...we started to find the tiny air holes, and then we started to dig as fast as we could. It was sheer bliss, not to mention how muddy we were and how tired we were, but it was such a fun time experiencing something new with the whole family.
We all caught our limit, thanks to Daddy and Grandpa Tom! We went back to the house, took warm showers, had a yummy breakfast and spent the rest of the day CLEANING CLAMS TO MAKE...
Grandpa Toms Clam Chowder
Ingredients:
• 6 strips bacon
• 3 Cups chopped onion (aprox. 2 medium)
• 6 Cups baby red potatoes (aprox. 18)
• 1/8 Cup flour
• 3 cups half and half
• 51 oz. can of sea clams (can be found at Costco)
• Butter, paprika, salt, and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Brown bacon and sauté onion in bacon fat combine both to make bacon mix and set aside for later.
2. Peel and dice baby red potatoes pour clam juice over potatoes and boil until tender.
3. Combine sea clams, bacon mix, potato mix, flour, half and half, butter, paprika, salt and pepper.
4. Heat thoroughly and enjoy.
Menu Ideas:
Sparkling apple cider
Tossed green salad
Grandpa Toms Chowder
Dads favorite cornbread
No comments:
Post a Comment