mulberryshoots

Like many households, we baked a glazed ham for Easter. I saw a joke somewhere that said, “What’s the definition of ‘infinity’?” and the answer was: “two people and a ham.” Well, we’re two people and we gave big chunks of ham to our neighbors and family. We still had quite a bit left over.

One night for supper, we had eggs benedict for dinner with some of the ham leftovers. It was scrumptious especially with the hollandaise sauce spiked with lots of fresh lemon in it. For the rest of the week, we stayed quiet on the ham wrapped carefully in the lower part of the fridge although we made up dinner roll ham ‘sliders’ to take to friends.

This afternoon, I took the chunk of ham out, cut most of the ham off the bone and started a pot of homemade ham and pea soup:

1. Sauteed chopped onion and carrots in oil
2. Soaked a pack of dried green peas in a bowl with boiling water
3. Trimmed the hambone and put it in the onion/carrot pot to brown all over
4. Added one can of chicken broth; and enough spring water to bring the level of the soup over the hambone. Brought the soup to a slow boil and maintained it there with the lid on for the rest of the afternoon.
5. Will add more water if needed when I taste the broth for flavor and saltiness. Because the ham is salty and the chicken broth is too, I lean more towards a bland pea-soup with more water than broth, letting the vegetables add sweetness to the soup. (Just tasted it: not salty and full of flavor!)
6. Let it cook a LONG TIME.

Earlier today, I made a batch of orange marmalade cinnamon rolls for my neighborhood librarians who are the nicest people in appreciation for “National Library Week.” We have a few rolls that I took out that we can steam up to have with the pea soup. I’ll check in with G. to see if he’d like some thin slices of ham on a roll with mustard, or on the side with Major Grey chutney.

That’s it for tonight’s supper: ham and pea soup, rolls and ham. I consolidated the rest of the ham pieces and put in the freezer for future eggs benedict or frittatas. So far, we’ve managed to manage this ham pretty well. C’est la Vie!