Clam Chowder, without the nasty side effects

This is a pretty delayed post, since I actually made the Clam Chowder on Monday. I have been putting off making Clam Chowder myself for so long because I just love eating it in a bread bowl by the SF Bay or Ocean when I make it over the bridge. However, my slight lactose intolerance sometimes makes it a less than enjoyable experience an hour or so after scarfing down a huge bowl of the stuff. That said, I decided to try a lightened up version with lactose free milk in place of the cream/half and half/milk option. I went the easy route, and also decided to try a recipe that used canned clams instead of fresh clams, mostly because I've never bought or prepared whole fresh clams myslef (yet). I found this version in my email inbox recently and decided to give it a go. I tend to err on the safe side and only make a small batch of new recipes so I don't have leftovers to throw away when it comes out a horrible mess (which has only happened a few times really). This recipe would have been lovely to have as lunch all week, so next time I will make the whole batch. Since we ate it as a meal in itself, 1 serving is really 2 servings. I cut the recipe in thirds and we ended up with 2 dinner sized servings and 1 lunch sized serving, if that helps put it in perspective. Anyhow, here is my 4-serving adaptation of the recipe I received from Cooking Light:

Simple Clam Chowder; 4 servings (approx 1 cup each):

Ingredients
1 bacon slice
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
Pinch of salt (I used Lawry's Seasoned Salt)
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 (6 1/2-ounce) cans chopped clams, undrained
1/3 pound diced peeled baking potato (I used one Organic Yukon Gold potato)
1-1/2 bottles clam juice (approx 12 oz)
1 bay leaf
1 cup 2% Lactose Free milk
8 teaspoons whole wheat flour
Cracked black pepper, to taste

Preparation
Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving the drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside.
Add onion, celery, salt, thyme, and garlic to drippings in pan; cook 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Drain clams, reserving liquid. Add clam liquid, potato, clam juice, and bay leaf to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until potato is tender. Discard bay leaf.
Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until smooth (or shake vigorously in an old jar or yogurt container like I did - works much faster than using a whisk!). Add flour mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 12 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add clams; cook 2 minutes. Sprinkle with bacon and cracked black pepper.