Eric's Quick Fish Chowdah

This fish chowder has lovely color, sweet, filling taste, and is very healthy.  Great on cool autumn evenings.  Enjoy!

1 stalk celery
1 good-size onion
1/2 red bell pepper
1 large baking potato or golden potato
kernels from 2 ears corn (white is best).  Use canned or frozen if desperate.
1/2 lb white fish.  Catfish is good; others work fine
1 TBS oil
1 TBS butter
4 cups milk
2 cups water
salt
pepper
pinch saffron*

Peel and cube potato
Coarsely chop onion, pepper, celery
Cut fish into chunks
Scrape off kernels

Heat oil in stew pot.
Sautee onion, pepper, celery til tender
Add liquid
Add potatoes
Add fish
Add corn

Add seasonings.  Don't over-salt.

Bring gently to a weak boil. You don't want to scald the milk.  Simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender. Add butter near end of cooking. Serve with biscuits and salad.  

Serves 4-6

*  A word about saffron.  Saffron is expensive, particularly when purchased in packets of 4-6 threads. Go ahead, be a sport and spring for an ounce of the stuff.  Keep tightly sealed and it will last for at least a decade.  Then when you use it you won't be mingy and parsimonious, feeling guilty all the while.  Saffron works with lots of stuff, and you don't need to use a ton of it in any one dish, put a small pinch is about right for most purposes.  Not 2-3 threads.  Yeesh!