Manhattan Vegetable Soup
Manhattan Clam Chowder without the clams? Certainly! Manhattan Vegetable Soup has the bold flavors you'll want, with the option of being vegetarian. Free recipe download.
Instagram (visualrealia) photograph of ingredients for Manhattan Vegetable Soup
Cream-based clam chowders have been around since the mid-1700s, with the newer tomato chowders not appearing in print until the 1930s. (Although some argue that early versions were known as Coney Island or Fulton Market chowders, which were available in the 1890s.) While these newer soups typically have "Manhattan" in their titles, they most likely came to fruition via Portuguese immigrants in Rhode Island.
As a fun side note, the New England versus Manhattan debate over which soup reigns supreme can get pretty ugly. In 1939, a Maine legislator introduced a bill to make the addition of tomatoes into chowder an offense!
For a number of years, one of my daughters was following a vegetarian diet. Not wanting to miss out on the wonderful taste of clam chowders, I worked on a clam-free version. Without the clams or clam juice, I needed to make sure other tastes were bold enough so the hungry soup eater would be more than satisfied.
If it's not important to keep the recipe vegetarian in your household, feel free to use a chicken broth instead of the vegetable broth; we have a wonderful neighborhood meat market that offers their own broths, so I'll typically go that route now that we no longer need to avoid meats.
This recipe is very adaptable; adjust to add your favorite or seasonal vegetables.
Download a one page printable pdf of my recipe by clicking here. Enjoy!
Kitchen Recommendations for the Home Cook
As a food and cooking hobbyist, I've run across a few simple kitchen items that I tend to reach for and depend upon. Catch them here.
Food is something I've always enjoyed, and cooking is often the best way to get the food that you want. As I've widened my experience with cooking, I've gradually obtained some kitchen items that are "must-haves" for me, and I tend to reach for these items often. I have no particular expertise other than interest, but perhaps you'll find something in this list that would help you or make a great gift, and I try to take cost and value into consideration. I'll update this article as new items reach the qualifications above.
• Cuisinart ICE-211.5 Quart Ice Cream Maker
I'm an avid fan of homemade ice cream; so much better than commercial or even most of what you'll find at ice cream parlors! Many of the ice cream themed cookbooks give recipes sized for the 1.5 quart ice cream makers that don't need ice or salt, and while I've had and used the larger old fashioned makers, the convenience of the no ice models means you'll most likely use it more often.
I've been using the standard Cuisinart model for quite a few years now, and have given a number as wedding gifts.
Price at publishing: $47.97
• OXO Good Grips V-Blade Mandoline Slicer
America's Test Kitchen chose this as one of their suggested slicers, and I've been very pleased with mine, particularly with the value. Slicing vegetables thinly and consistently is quite easy, and thicknesses can range from 1/16th to 1/4th of an inch.
This is quite sharp, so be certain to use the enclosed food holder.
Price at publishing: $39.95
• EatSmart Precision Pro Digital Kitchen Scale
As your baking experience grows you'll most likely run into an increasing number of recipes that rely on the accuracy of weight measurement, and a small but reliable scale will become useful. This scale fits the bill and measures in ounces, pounds, grams and kilograms, and easily tares to account for the plate or bowl used to hold the ingredient.
Price at publishing: $19.95
• Ateco 690 Pastry Cloth & Rolling Pin Cover
And speaking of baking, why fight dough moving or sticking as you attempt to work with it? This inexpensive cloth, at 25 x 20 inches, solves the problem for you. Place it on any flat surface and you have a new work area.
Price at publishing: $7.49
Bodum Brazil 8-Cup French Press Coffee Maker with Coffee from Hanover's (PA) Merlin's Coffee
• Bodum Brazil 8-Cup French Press Coffee Maker
After all of those homemade baked goods, you'll want some great home-brewed coffee. Unless you're making it for a bunch of guests, now with a french press for great results.
Price at publishing: $19.99
• Oster 18-Quart Roaster Oven with Buffet Server
With limited kitchen space, having items that serve more than one purpose is a necessity. You'll use this roaster for pork loins, chickens and roasts, but you'll also see how handy it as a three tub buffet server to keep foods warm and safe for guests. Fill the roaster with water a half hour before serving and easily control the food temperature throughout your meal, or keep food out a bit longer safely.
Price at publishing: $51.04
• Lodge Seasoned 12 Inch Cast Iron Skillet
The most-used item on our stove and in the oven is the legendary cast iron pan. I have two 12 pans handy and often in use. Versatile and easy to clean.
Price at publishing: $31.89
Norpro Frozen Ice Pop Maker (Previous Model)
• Norpro Frozen Ice Pop Maker
After a great meal comes dessert, and popsicles are a great choice; homemade are even better.
Price at publishing: $9.51
• OXO Good Grips Fish Turner
The ability to get under food and flip it seems so simplistic, yet so few designs do it well. With the delicacy of fish, another twist is thrown in. This turner will work for many dishes you'll make.
Price at publishing: $12.95
• Cutlery
One of the best investments in the kitchen are quality knives, but the costs can seem astonishing. Are there better knifes available if you have the money? Probably, but listed below are the knives I've found to be the best value for the cost, from the large chef's knife to the steak knife at the table.
Victorinox 8 Inch Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife
Price at publishing: $44.95
Amazon Link
Victorinox 125th Anniversary 4 ½ Inch Tomato/Bagel Knife
This knife is currently not available, but appears to be similar to the Victorinox 4 ½ Inch Utility Knife
Price at publishing: $10.49
Amazon Link
Victorinox Cutlery 3-Piece Paring Knife Set
Price at publishing: $18.31
Amazon Link
Misen Chef's Knife
Review by Serious Eats' Kenji Lopez-Alt
Price at publishing: $65.00
Misen Link
Chicago Cutlery 4-Piece Tradition Steak Knife Set
Price at publishing: $21.71
Amazon Link
And my favorite item is...
• StarPack Premium Silicone Spoon/Spatula Spoon
There is a bit of a price range for the items above, but my favorite kitchen item is one of the cheapest. The silicone is stiff enough for serious stirring, yet flexible at the edges to scrape the pot without scratching. Perfect size and weight; this is the first item to buy.
Price at publishing: $7.49
Amazon Link
Hopefully you'll find something here to help in your kitchen or as a gift; I'll update the list as necessary to keep my favorites where you can find them.
As an Amazon Affiliate, purchases from the Amazon links provided will earn this web site a small commission fee, which helps support this web site.
Hanover Time
A mission to purchase a sundial instead ends with a customized Hanover project.
I've always been fascinated by sundials. Large ones, unique ones, small garden ones, all a testament to the human will to understand the world around them. Visually simple in appearance, but quite complex in their method.
In simplest form, a sundial is a device used to calculate time via the altitude of the sun. Classic sundials have a gnomon that casts a shadow onto a flat area, although there are many other variations of increasing complexity. These devices can display the local solar time, which varies from the time shown on our modern watches. (Variances include the non-circular nature of our orbit and the tilt of Earth's axis.)
Ancient Egyptians kept track of time via the length of shadows, and the Old Testament notes the "dial of Ahaz." Giovanni Padovani in the 1570s and later Giuseppe Biancani in the 1620s gave us the techniques still used today to create accurate timepieces, or at least as accurate as we can get with these techniques.
CAD drawing of calibration lines - courtesy of Chet Roberts/ANCR Sundials
CAD drawing of the custom gnomon - courtesy of Chet Roberts/ANCR Sundials
My interest led to an initial hunt for an antique decorative sundial, but after some thought, I realized that I'd much rather have a working device that can provide accurate information. Both latitude and longitude must be considered in the design. (Note the CAD drawings above.) Chet Roberts of ANCR Sundials was able to help.
As part of the project, I was able to choose some text and a background of my choice. As the end product would be tied to the Hanover area for accuracy, it seemed obvious to use Hanover as the focus of the theme.
The black rose used in a Hanover area advertisement.
'Hanover" and the year was an easy choice, but there were several directions for the background. The black rose has been associated with Hanover at times due to the use of the symbol by the German royal dynasty, the House of Hanover. The dynasty's rule reached into Great Britain and Ireland.
The Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce utilized the black rose shown above in a campaign starting in the late 1970s. My only source was a poor scan of an advertisement, but I was able to work with it to create the larger pattern necessary, and to modify the original design to work within the circular space of the sundial. (See the update below.)
Modified black rose design.
And the process began!
After discussion and sharing of my background image and home address for correct calculations by Mr. Roberts, a design was created and approved.
Approved design - courtesy of Chet Roberts/ANCR Sundials
After the mathematical calculations and design process, a CNC router cut the pattern in foam, a process that takes approximately 5 ½ hours. Errors can occur, as was the case in the first few attempts on the Hanover pattern. The good news? That left a pattern to capture in this photograph.
Foam pattern
The foam pattern is carefully cleaned up and placed in foundry sand. Aluminum is heated to 1450 degrees, which vaporizes the foam pattern.
Slag created when molten aluminum is skimmed off before making the pour.
Sundial and gnomons - courtesy of Chet Roberts/ANCR Sundials
After removal, the work is machined and polished.
Photo courtesy of Chet Roberts/ANCR Sundials.
Back of the sundial, showing the completion date.
Completed sundial and gnomon.
And the project was completed and shipped. With the gnomon pointed north, the sundial does indeed provide accurate time.
Completed work - courtesy of Chet Roberts/ANCR Sundials
Pointing north to provide accurate time for its unique location.
ANCR Sundials is named for Audrey 'N Chet Roberts. It was Chet's wife's desire for a sundial that led him on a journey to making them for others. Before his retirement from his full time career, he worked "behind the camera" in numerous positions for WEWS Channel 5 and WJW Channel 8, both located in Ohio. Chet's other interests include amateur radio and 1/8th size steam locomotives.
- Update, 10/5/20 -
Since publishing this article, I have learned that while the Hanover community utilized a black rose symbolically in the late 1970s and onward, the design shown in this article was not created and used until the mid-1990s and was designed by Doug West. A better view of the original design, as provided by the logo artist is below,
- Update, 08/8/21 -
Chet has retired from making custom sundials; his Hanover sundial will always be treasured!
Other photographs of the sundial continue below.
Vanishing Village
Nestled between Hanover and McSherrystown is a small village with a vanishing name.
Entering Adams County from the York County Line, Pennsylvania
There was a time when drivers traveling between Hanover and McSherrytown on Route 116 would pass small signs noting the village name of Midway. Businesses noted the name. Today, visual remnants of the name are seldom found.
Midway, located in Conewago Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania, borders Hanover (in York County) and McSherrystown. It is considered an unincorporated census-designated place, or a CDP. The United States Census Bureau considers CDPs to be a concentration of population for statistical purposes only. This areas have boundaries that tend to be softly defined and have no legal status. The 2010 census determined that Midway has a population of 2,125, which includes members of my family.
The signs noting your entrance to the area have been removed, and very few signs noting the name can still be spotted. As time goes on, explaining the location of your house as being "in Midway" has become less helpful. Midway, it seems, is a bit of a vanishing village.
Image by Ruhrfisch, used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
Midway Tavern, Hanover/Midway, Pennsylvania
360 Photos on Visual Realia
Visual Realia is capturing area photographs with a 360 degree view.
An interactive 360 photo as shown in a Facebook post.
Google's 360 Photos are a new way to immerse the viewer into any location. A sphere-shaped image is created and shared in a way where the audience can move around the scene in all directions via a movement of a smartphone, a finer swipe, or mouse movement. On some devices, the user can soon in and out of the scene.
Facebook has now utilized the same technology on Facebook 360 Photos, and the two work together.
Visual Realia (Andrew T. Smith) is now sharing numerous Hanover-area 360 photographs on its associated Inside Hanover Facebook page, and even more are linked from his site's 360s page, which can be found at the top of each page or via a click here.
A 360 photo as it appears in "flattened" form.
It's not possible to view this 360 photo of the Electric Map directly in this web page, but you can view it in interactive form in the Facebook post linked here. They may also be viewed in a web browser visiting Google Maps or in the Google Street View app for iPhone or Android.
Have a Google Cardboard viewer? (If not, you should get one! Quite fun.) Using the viewer in conjunction with the Street View app fields a three dimensional experience that puts the viewer right into the scene.
Check out the Visual Realia 360 photos now!
New Gallery: A Pennsylvania Farm
Pennsylvania Farm Gallery
A gallery of photographs captured in 2009 has been added to the photography page. Visit the scenes from a Pennsylvania farm by clicking here.