A half foot of snow on the ground and more sifting down…and we’re missing ingredients. Well, she rules the kitchen during Christmas baking, but I *could* go after the needful stuff, and I rather enjoy winter driving (a novelty where I grew up)…so off I went. The Safeway was predictably screwball—of the three stores I frequent, this one was on a clear plowed road, and oh, my, it is a bit less upscale than the one I usually use. As in—they don’t restock. They’re the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to their parent company sending them food, and the quality of stuff is often, well, I don’t buy meat in this particular store—the other one yes, but well, this one…could I find baking chocolate? The baking aisle was decimated. I finally found some that would do. And the kitchen smells of peanut butter and cereal Nuts n’ Bolts, it’s called, a chex mix delicacy. Tomorrow, chocolate crinkles and Russian tea cakes, my own all-too-favorite. Our neighbor, bless him, came over to offer to bring our garbage cans up from the street, and I was glad of that.
The pond ice is melting, sign of warmer weather. It has until tomorrow morning to melt off the roof so we can get the vent installed. But our drawer pulls came, so there is something for Scott to do.
Mama asked for persimmon pudding three different times, so I made some, which brought forth a request for figgy pudding for Christmas, so I now have the ingredients for that. Yesterday was borscht. Today was bread and ham pot pie.
Before thanks giving day, I bought a three pound boneless ham, sliced and froze it. Then Mama bought a seven pound ham, bone in a week later. Then the spousal unit arrived and decided neither of those would do, so he went out and bought a four pound spiral cut ham to roast for the day. We have ham and potato soup in the freezer and two tubs of pot pie, as well as a couple of pounds of sliced and frozen ham. We have run out of people willing to take ham. Please tell me that one can keep smoked meats frozen for more than three months; all this stuff is good, but we are having beef for Christmas!
I would think so. Drying out may be a problem. Get a good freezer wrap to prevent same.And if it isn’t great, then big pots of navy beans and ham, green beans and ham, and ham salad.
Pea or bean soup with ham (my mother put ham hocks in hers, but diced would work as well).
And corn bread. Red beans slow cooked with ham cubes and corn bread to push those little darlings onto the silverware and sop up all that good red bean juicy goodness. . . Nuts. Now I’ hungry. Nope. Soldiering on . . .
Ham shish kababed with alternating chunks of pineapple and apple briefly broiled just long enough to heat the ham.
Ham put in the food processor with chunks of kosher dill pickle, green onion, a dab of mustard of choice and enough mayo to make a paste. Spread on whatever you got handy, but rye is nice.
Ham run through the food processor and sprinkled on baked ‘taters.
Ham chopped, sauteed with onions and peppers and spices, wrapped in a flour tortilla.
What? Uh-0h. There’s some green enchiladas in the fridge calling my name. I better go see what they want. . . .