chowder of awesome

There's no photo to go with this recipe... mostly because the soup is gone, but also because chowder doesn't necessarily photograph prettily. The important thing is that the soup was indeed awesomely tasty. Epically awesomely tasty.

I started from the Potato Leek Soup recipe in James Barber's Immodest But Honest Good Eating Cookbook... originally published in 1986, and the first cookbook I ever bought for myself.

6 slices of bacon, chopped
2 onions, chopped
3 (smallish) leeks, sliced
1 cup diced mushrooms
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
3 cups broth
3 cups water
1 zucchini, diced
1/2 can corn
1-2 cups leftover baked salmon (optional)
1 tsp dillweed
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, cook the bacon til crisp and browned. Remove from pan, and drain all but 1 Tbsp fat*. Add onions and leeks, and cook til softened. Stir in mushrooms and cook for a few minutes, then stir in potatoes and carrot, and add broth and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for approximately 20 minutes. Stir in zucchini and corn, and cook for a further 10 minutes, or til all veggies are cooked. Stir in salmon, dill, reserved bacon pieces and milk; give it a few minutes to heat up again, and add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with cheesy biscuits, and make about 10 people very happy :)

*I save my bacon fat in a little jar in the fridge (I can't help it... I'm a Mennonite!) and use it for making cornbread. Soooooo good!!!