Salmon Corn Chowder with Tasteful Selections Purple Passion Potatoes

One of the much talked about benefits of blogging is the swag. Well, swag is a benefit of some kinds of blogging. Mommy bloggers are known for how many products they receive, senders hoping for a positive review. And some beauty bloggers regularly get boxes of new releases from cosmetic companies. I can honestly say a couple beauty bloggers' reviews definitely drive me to Sephora.com more often than I would like to admit. Food blogging is not often characterized by product. Events, openings, new menus, festivals and things of that nature are a kind of swag of their own and are the extrinsic rewards with which review oriented bloggers tend to get bombarded.

Deciding in 2010 that I was going to spend less time attending special events in favor of spending more time at home with my husband and in my own kitchen has led to a lot more cooking and just generally enjoying my blog a little more in the last six months or so.  Recently PR firm Golden Sun Marketing contacted me about trying some of their clients' produce. This is something I can review from the comfort of my own home, via my kitchen and my husband's full belly.  First up, Tasteful Selections Purple Passion small potatoes.

Aren't they gorgeous?

Last week, newly home from sunny and freezing NYC, I was craving a cozy chowder.  I chose a 2007 recipe from Gourmet magazine to rif on and started spinning.  It's an inviting looking recipe for corn clam chowder, and since it's not really clam season I gave D free rein at the fish counter. He brought home salmon and scallops. I plan to play with the scallops next week.

After the boiled potatoes cooled, I sliced most of them for the soup. A few I put away in the fridge for later use. It never hurts to have some pre-cooked produce laying around for throwing together a quick healthy meal. More on that later.

Reading like a book from the top left. While waiting for D to come home from the grocery store, I tossed a simple version of mirepoix (my celery was a little wilted so I went with just carrot and onion) into my deepest pot with a little garlic and sauteed until the onion was translucent.Having a half jar of capers in the door of the fridge, I tossed those in too. I added corn shaved from three fresh ears, who knows in what hemisphere those ears were grown.  Last, I tossed in cubed raw salmon and tossed the mixture until the salmon was cooked about halfway through. Then I poured in two 8 oz jars of clam juice for the rich flavor.

I tossed the cooked and sliced Purple Passion potatoes into the soup and brought the mixture to a boil until the potatoes were just warmed through. I wanted a little creaminess in the soup and in honor of cooking healthily I used almond milk instead of cream. I poured in about a cup and a half.

D declared this to be the best soup he has ever eaten, but honestly he says that every time I make homemade soup. I think this is because he eats a LOT of canned soup. Nevertheless, this was delicious. I could happily throw together some version of this cold weather friendly dish on a weekly basis.

Leftover Purple Passion potatoes?  For the Eat My Blog bake sale benefit this week I unsuccessfully made caramel with pumpkin puree and pepitas. To add a little extra oomph to the flavor I used goat's milk butter instead of regular butter. My point? I had extra goaty butter in the fridge. For lunch today, I ate those purple potatoes heated through with plenty of goat's milk butter. The butter really brought out the sweet nuttiness of the Purple Passion potatoes.  This simple lunch might have even been better than the soup. And those caramels? Add them to the growing list of my baking disasters.