White Fish and Pea Chowder

I was talking to a friend today and we started complaining about the weather. Normally, during our post drop-off stroll, we  download each other’s upcoming day and compare notes about our children’s latest friendship triangles. But today it was all about the weather. Why was it still so cold? Isn’t late April usually warmer? But then my friend said, “You know, Facebook reminded me yesterday that it’s not warmer this time of year. In fact, last year, we were saying the exact same thing.” I laughed at her getting the weather from Facebook but she was right. In Facebook’s daily flashback of her previous years’ posts, she was reminded, that, on this day last year, she did the every same thing–complained about the cold.

In other words, it happens every April. We think it’s going to be warmer than it will. We think we can ride our bikes to school with just a jacket and we can’t. We think we can give up our soups and stews and we can’t. So rather than keep churning out menus with our January staples, I decided we needed a chowder. Well, actually, I started fussing about this chowder long before today. However, it was this morning I realized that a chowder is exactly what April needs. As a kid, I spent my summers on the coasts of New England and all the little shanty’s or restaurants dotting the water have a menu that features a chowder. As a result, a milky bowl sprinkled with fresh herbs screams warmer temperatures to me. We may not have fully graduated to gazpachos quite yet, but we are ready for some chowders.

This chowder bridges the gap between slow cooked stews and fast and dirty summer barbecue dishes. It’s simple and light but still hearty and delicious. Rather than using cream, potatoes give the soup its creamy richness so you can feel good about the big bowl you’ll have at dinner. I can’t say the same about the three thick slices of crusty bread oozing butter I ate alongside. But you never read that.