Say it ... chowDAH

Hmmm, yet another one of those weeks where the time speeds by even though at some times - especially at work - the hands of the clock seem to move at a crawl. Then, suddenly, it's the weekend, time to cook salmon, but you've also committed to a trip to another city to see a play and ... well you get the picture.
Still and all, I have done yet another recipe because I'm determined to actually do this every week and no excuses. Well, no feeble excuses anyhow.
I didn't end up doing the mango salmon I've been pondering for the past couple of weeks, and not the stuffed with mascarpone and crab one I almost tried after seeing it Saturday night on a menu at a Victoria pub. (But do expect both of those in coming weeks ... I really thing they will be delish.)
We've spent the last couple of days under gray skies with chilly winds, so, I decided there was only one solution: a nice, big, hot bowl of chowder.
After looking up all kinds of ideas on sites like Recipezaar, Cookstr and the Food Network site, I put together something that fits my tastes ... and didn't require buying a lot of extra things I didn't have on hand.
So here it is:

Creamy Salmon Chowder
1 1/2 tbs. butter
1 largish onion, diced
1 small bulb of fennel, chopped medium fine
1 stick of celery, sliced
1/4 c. flour (whole wheat as that's what we have, but white is actually probably better)
1.5 litres stock. (recipes called for fish, I used vegetable as that's what was in the pantry and there was no way I had time to make stock)
4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 in cubes
1 lb, 450 gms of boneless, skinless salmon
1/4 lb., 100 grams, smoked salmon, wet or dry variety, cut small or shredded if dry type
1 roasted red pepper, chopped into 1 inch pieces
3/4 cup milk (whole might be creamier, we use 1% so that's what I used)
1/2 c. whipping cream
salt and pepper
generous pinch of cayenne or chili flakes
2 tbs. herbs (Most recipes call for dill, I used a blend of oregano, thyme and marjoram from my garden as I'm not a huge dill fan and didn't have any on hand)

Melt butter in a large, heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Add onion, fennel and celery and cook over medium heat until softened, about 6 minutes, stirring from time to time.
Stir in flour, reduce heat to low and cook for three or four minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add fish stock and potatoes plus seasonings, bring to a boil then reduce to simmer, covered until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
Add salmon and and simmer until cooked, about four minutes.
Stir in milk, cream and herbs and smoked salmon bits and cook just until warmed through. Don't boil or the milk may curdle.
Taste to check for seasoning level.
Serve decorated with fennel frond (or dill if you used that for herbs) and enjoy with a big piece of crusty bread and butter.

I really enjoyed this ... wound up having two bowls through the evening and it warmed my cockles and other bits just fine, though I admit I added a little more chili flakes in the second bowl as I was craving the extra zip.
Papi Alvaro is not a big soup fan (I know! How is that possible?) But it means I have lunch for work today and maybe tomorrow too. Yep, it's good enough to eat three days in a row, but maybe that's just me...
I want to try this basic recipe again but plan to change out the fennel for cauliflower, leave out the smoky elements of smoked salmon and roasted red pepper and go with some curry spices instead of the herbs. Not sure, but I think that might be lovely variation.