cdkitchen > cooking experts > sarah christine bolton
My siblings and I had what you might call a non-traditional education. We were home-schooled, which isn’t code for weird-bookworm-non-socialized people. On the contrary, we all turned out fairly normal (at least we think we are normal!).
One year, in an attempt to help my mom out with educating the young, malleable minds of my younger brother and sister, I decided to hold a weekly history class for them. I picked out a good textbook, wrote lesson plans, practiced my lectures, and even set up an easel to write notes on.
The first class went really well. I talked about Lief Ericson and how he had traveled to the New World many years before Christopher Columbus. We jumped ahead a bit, and talked about Benjamin Franklin and the Wright Brothers (Like I said, things were a bit non-traditional). They listened, took notes, and wrote down their homework, due the next week.
Class two didn’t go so well. I can’t remember specific details, but it went something like this:
“So, who was the first man to come to the New World?” I asked.
“Leif Ericson,” my sister said confidently.
“Very good!” I said. I was confident that my career as a teacher was set in stone. My brilliant lecture had sunk in. “And who invented the airplane?”
“Leif Ericson!” my brother this time, a big confident smile on his face.
“Oh, I meant who invented the AIRPLANE,” I said, articulating the question.
“Leif Ericson!” he said again.
“Yep, Leif Ericson!” my sister chimed in. I stared at them, in shock. Where had I gone wrong?
After that, chaos ensued. The answer to every question was “Leif Ericson.” I tried to backtrack, but it was too late. Leif Ericson had been burned onto their impressionable brains and nothing was going to change that.
Today, I’ve been able to move past my early failures as a teacher. Recently, my little sister (now not so little…she’s in college) called me and told me that she was taking an American history course and that they were discussing Leif Ericson, as well as lots of other influential and important American figures. She actually knew the difference between Leif Ericson and everyone else. It was a breakthrough for her. I felt just a twinge of bitterness crop up that someone else was succeeding where I had failed, but then I realized that I was the one who had really set the foundation for her. If it hadn’t been for me, she wouldn’t have that strong sense of who Leif Ericson was.
I credit myself for her brilliance.
Since it’s Columbus Day and not Leif Ericson Day (although he should have one, since he was technically the first explorer to the New World), I decided to choose a recipe that uses foods native to the Americas. This is a delicious corn chowder, with hints of lime.
It’s called the Leif Ericson Chowder, but please don’t start calling everything “the Leif Ericson ----” I won’t be able to handle another failure.
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/sarah-christine-bolton/783-native-american-dish/
Getting to Know Leif Ericson
My siblings and I had what you might call a non-traditional education. We were home-schooled, which isn’t code for weird-bookworm-non-socialized people. On the contrary, we all turned out fairly normal (at least we think we are normal!).
One year, in an attempt to help my mom out with educating the young, malleable minds of my younger brother and sister, I decided to hold a weekly history class for them. I picked out a good textbook, wrote lesson plans, practiced my lectures, and even set up an easel to write notes on.
The first class went really well. I talked about Lief Ericson and how he had traveled to the New World many years before Christopher Columbus. We jumped ahead a bit, and talked about Benjamin Franklin and the Wright Brothers (Like I said, things were a bit non-traditional). They listened, took notes, and wrote down their homework, due the next week.
Class two didn’t go so well. I can’t remember specific details, but it went something like this:
“So, who was the first man to come to the New World?” I asked.
“Leif Ericson,” my sister said confidently.
“Very good!” I said. I was confident that my career as a teacher was set in stone. My brilliant lecture had sunk in. “And who invented the airplane?”
“Leif Ericson!” my brother this time, a big confident smile on his face.
“Oh, I meant who invented the AIRPLANE,” I said, articulating the question.
“Leif Ericson!” he said again.
“Yep, Leif Ericson!” my sister chimed in. I stared at them, in shock. Where had I gone wrong?
After that, chaos ensued. The answer to every question was “Leif Ericson.” I tried to backtrack, but it was too late. Leif Ericson had been burned onto their impressionable brains and nothing was going to change that.
Today, I’ve been able to move past my early failures as a teacher. Recently, my little sister (now not so little…she’s in college) called me and told me that she was taking an American history course and that they were discussing Leif Ericson, as well as lots of other influential and important American figures. She actually knew the difference between Leif Ericson and everyone else. It was a breakthrough for her. I felt just a twinge of bitterness crop up that someone else was succeeding where I had failed, but then I realized that I was the one who had really set the foundation for her. If it hadn’t been for me, she wouldn’t have that strong sense of who Leif Ericson was.
I credit myself for her brilliance.
Since it’s Columbus Day and not Leif Ericson Day (although he should have one, since he was technically the first explorer to the New World), I decided to choose a recipe that uses foods native to the Americas. This is a delicious corn chowder, with hints of lime.
It’s called the Leif Ericson Chowder, but please don’t start calling everything “the Leif Ericson ----” I won’t be able to handle another failure.
Corn Chowder Soup
Made with butter, onion, green bell pepper, potatoes, water, salt, black pepper, creamed corn, milk, evaporated milk
Made with butter, onion, green bell pepper, potatoes, water, salt, black pepper, creamed corn, milk, evaporated milk
Serves/Makes: 4
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 3 cups diced potatoes
- 2 cups water
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 medium can creamed corn
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- chopped parsley (optional)
In 3 quart saucepan melt butter on high. Lower the burner and add onion and green pepper. Saute until onion is clear, stirring occasionally.
Add potatoes, water, salt and pepper. Cover, bring to boil, lower burner and cook until tender.
Add corn, milk, evaporated milk. Heat, stirring frequently until chowder bubbles slightly.
Serve. Add parsley.
share this article:
related articles
Write a comment:
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/sarah-christine-bolton/783-native-american-dish/