Manhattan Style Clam Chowder, Spring Weather

Manhattan Style Clam Chowder-

I saw this recipe at Mennonitegirlscancook.ca  and decided to try it! I doubled the recipe, and modified it by adding 3/4 cup leftover white wine, 2 TBL. flour in 2 TBL. olive oil (to thicken a  bit), doubled the garlic, and added a few shots of Tabasco. It was really great and Dave loved it too!

I read the history of it, short version- The addition of tomatoes in place of milk was initially the work of Portuguese immigrants in Rhode Island, as tomato-based stews were already a traditional part of Portuguese cuisine. From: en.wikipedia.org

It was really perfect served with a crusty baguette, filling and healthy. Using canned clams and juice, it would have been better with fresh, but, we live in Boise, sigh.

Spring Weather- We've been having high 40's weather lately, bizarre. It's way too early to garden, but I'm getting antsy. Dave and I were talking, over lunch in Idaho City, about what we could start on the window sills? We went to Idaho City, since it was mild, to get out of the house, go for a drive, and have lunch. Clear roads, and only some snow on the sides of the road near the upper elevations. Trudy's is a little cafe with great food, and AMAZING huckleberry cheesecake. We bought one slice only since we're both losing weight, and are trying to moderate :)  It's worth it. A little Idaho City history, just an hour outside Boise:

History-
Idaho City was founded in December 1862 as "Bannock" (sometimes given as "West Bannock"), amidst the Boise Basin gold rush during the Civil War, the largest since the California gold rush a dozen years earlier. Near the confluence of Elk and Mores Creeks, its plentiful water supply allowed it to outgrow the other nearby camps in the basin, such as Placerville, Pioneerville, and Centerville. As its population swelled, the new Idaho Territorial legislature changed the town's name to "Idaho City," to avoid confusion with Bannack, Montana, in present-day Beaverhead County, the southwestern corner of Montana.

At its peak during the mid-1860s, there were more than 200 businesses in town, including three dozen saloons and two dozen law offices. Its 1864 population of 7,000 made it the largest city in the Northwest, bigger than Portland. Wood was the prime source of both shelter and heat, which caused Idaho City to burn four times: 1865, 1867, 1868, and 1871.^[2] In 1863, St. Joseph's Catholic Church was established; it was the first Catholic parish in the new Idaho Territory.


                    
From- en.wikipedia.org