Easter Sunday...the aftermath

After the main Easter meal, inevitably you are left with...leftovers. Unless of course, you are the type that goes out to eat for Easter Sunday - then you are probably left with a doggie bag, and if you are reading this, you are outta luck because this blog entry is about what to do with the leftovers.

The ham was massive.  10.5 pounds for just five people, three of which don't eat all that much.  However, we've made quite a dent in the leftovers - sandwiches, pasta (ham and leek with bowties), snacks.  There is a good amount of meat left, and time is running out.  I was supposed to drop some off to my son's batting coach, but communication with a 15 year old is not always timely, and he told me about three days after he had batting lessons when I was musing aloud about that huge hunk of ham still taking up space in my fridge.  Teenagers.

Luckily, the weather turned colder.  We had a streak of 90 degree plus weather for about a week, and no one even wants to come NEAR a bowl of nice hot soup when it's 91 degrees outside.  A thunderstorm brought much cooler temperatures more on par for the MD area, so soup was back on the menu.

I love split pea soup.  However, my husband refuses to eat peas, or even split pea soup, because of the name.  You get it? pea = pee.  Doesn't matter it's not spelled the same, doesn't matter that peas are green, and you would never pee green ANYTHING, and if you did it would most likely be a cause for consternation, but all his life he has assiduously avoided anything with the "pea" word.  I usually just tell him they aren't really "peas"  (which is sort of a half truth - they *are* peas, but not like the kind you get from your garden - split peas came originally from India),  they are "legumes".  Legumes are your beans, lentils, and yes...peas LOL.  They are loaded with fiber and nutrients and are a good substitute if you want something filling, but meatless.

I digress yet again.  Lucky I'm not like this in the kitchen, or dinner would never get on the table.  I don't understand how I can be so organized in some areas, and so easily sidetracked in others.  As a cook and a nurse, I have *no* problem keeping on task, but with housework I am usually hopelessly distracted.  I start out vacuuming the dining room rug for example, then I noticed that the credenza needs dusting, so I go into the kitchen to get a dust rag.  When I am in the kitchen, I notice there is a ring on the counter from where Ben made a chocolate shake, and was a bit off on his calcuations of ice cream/milk/glass.  So, I get a sponge and wipe it up.  When I finish, I start back into the dining room, only to notice while glancing in the family room that Ben's hoodie is on the floor, so I go in and pick it up.  While I am in there, I notice the pillow to the green chair is also on the floor, so I pick that up too.  Then upon straightening up, I notice a dust bunny in the hallway.  To the garage to get the dustpan/broom.  I sweep up the dust bunny, then notice the pile of dirty clothes accumulating on the bathroom floor since Meg isn't around to yell at Ben - "BEN!!!!! GET YOUR CLOTHES OFF THE FREAKIN' FLOOR SO I CAN TAKE A SHOWER!!!!!!" So I go pick them up because I don't want to get behind in the laundry.  I think you're beginning to get the picture.  However, in the kitchen I am a whirlwind of efficiency.  I clean up as I go, I wipe counters when I'm done.  Pots are cleaned before I even sit down to the meal.  Dammit, I am good.  Hubby swears one of the main reasons he married me was because I could coordinate all aspects of meal preparation and have the dinner all done at the same time.  This was after we went to dinner at a friend's house, and had french fries, then about 10 minutes later hamburgers, followed by the buns five minutes later and the corn 20 minutes after that.

Back to lentils!  If you haven't tried them, please do.  They are yummy, especially when adequately seasoned, and are very easy to make.  Lentil Soup is one of those things you can make and leave simmering on the stove for literally hours, and it's a perfect way to use up all that Easter Ham.  I know everyone has their favorite recipe, but playing around with my old recipe, I came up with a new, improved variation that has a little kick, thanks to red pepper flakes, and all my favorite onions!  Do NOT be intimidated by the list of ingredients - you basically just throw them all into the same pot and forget about it for an hour or so.  How much easier can it be than that?

Lentil Soup with Ham (printable recipe HERE) serves 6-8

8 cups of water
2 generous teaspoons of Better than Bouillon, (vegetable or chicken flavor) or a powdered instant broth - if you had a boneless ham, simply substitute chicken or vegetable broth for the water, and omit the Better than Bouillon. (Please, please invest in some Better than Bouillon.  It has a wonderful, home made flavor, and lacks the metallic taste that the powdered yukky "fake" instant broths loaded with MSG have)

1/2 pound of green lentils (I use organic french lentils from natural market)
1 large onion chopped

1 shallot, chopped - (If you don't know what shallots are - they are like an onion, but about the same size as a head of garlic - their flavor is sort of a cross between a sweet onion and garlic - and you don't need much to give your dish a lovely flavor - besides, imagine going through the produce aisle muttering to yourself "lets see..shallots, shallots..." and have people look at you and think "wow, they must know how to cook cos' they are looking for shallots!"
2 leeks, rinsed and split lengthwise, and chopped white and light green portions
3 large cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or ground red pepper flakes)(This was enough to give the soup a little "kick" if you want a punt, increase the amount of red pepper flakes)
2 good sized carrots, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 tbs fresh thyme leaves, (or 1 teaspoon of dried)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 bay leaf

1-2 tbs tomato paste (Consider buying a tube of tomato paste - it lasts forever, and you don't waste a whole can if you only need a tablespoon or two- You can usually find it with the Italian specialties, or in the aisle where they have the tomato sauce and pasta)
1 tbs red wine or red wine vinegar (don't substitute white vinegar - white wine or cider is OK and if you don't have any wine OR vinegar, just omit it)
About 1/4 cup of EVOO
Leftover Easter Ham (about 2-3 cups more or less to your preference)
Leftover Easter Ham bone
Parmesean or romano cheese for topping

1. Cover the lentils with boiling water, and let them sit while you prepare the veggies.

2. Put the EVOO in a large pot (The one you're going to cook the soup in) heat it, then add the leeks, shallot, onions, celery, carrots, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, cumin, and cook on a medium to low heat until the veggies are tender. If they start to brown, turn the heat down a bit. The carrots can still be a bit hard, but the oniony veggies should be tender and translucent.

3. Drain the lentils.

4. Add 2 quarts of water to the pot with the veggies, along with the Better than Bouillon, one bay leaf, the tomato paste, the ham bone,and the lentils. Cover and simmer for at least an hour or until the lentils are tender. Adjust the seasonings. You should get into the habit of tasting and seasoning your food before you serve it.  The cooking process can alter the flavors.  If you're not sure, underseason at the beginning.  You can always add more seasoning, but if you had too heavy of a hand at the onset, it may be difficult if not impossible to adjust.  You can leave it cooking on the stove for longer if you want, as many hours as you need. Remove the ham bone and puree the soup with a hand blender to desired thickness. (You need to do this BEFORE adding in the ham chunks - or else you'll get quasi pureed meat along with the lentils, and honestly, that's kind of yukky.  Trust me, I speak from experience) Add the ham chunks, and wine (or wine vinegar), cook for about 20 minutes more, and serve.. Top with grated romano or parmesean cheese.

Serve with a nice crusty bread and a glass of wine.  Add a salad if you wish, and be prepared to go back for seconds.  If the compliments come, always say "It was nothing" because obviously it tastes like something  you slaved over at a hot stove for HOURS on, and you may be able to get some clean up help, or even a "you've been working hard and cooking all week - let's go out for a change".  Unfortunately, this no longer works in my family, since they are used to good cooking.  Dang.

Take a leek to dinner tonight!

I like making soup every once in a while for dinner.  Paired with a salad and some crusty bread, it's quick, easy, healthy, and a nice change.

Why do we have to have MEAT with every meal? Who says dinner has to consist of meat, veggie, starch?  Why can't it be soup?

My family has varied tastes in soup.  I like creamy soups that are a bit thicker - but not the gluey paste they call soup in most restaurants or diners.   You know the kind I mean...order clam chowder, and you can take the chowder, put it on some construction paper, and your five-year-old wouldn't know the difference.  If you have some wallpaper that is peeling, you can fix it with that chowder.  Or, you can use it in a pinch if you run out of glue for your scrapbooking.  Ok ok...I may be exaggerating a tad, but you know what I mean.  My daughter loves thick soups, my husband likes thin soups, and my son, he likes any kind of soup, as long as there are no tomato chunks in it, which he will assiduously remove from his bowl prior to eating the said soup. (I'm sure if he could, he would replace the tomatoes with Oreo cookie chunks instead)

This soup is sort of a happy medium.  It's a "just right" soup.  A little thick, a little thin.  You can change the consistency by how much you decide to puree the potatoes.  You want a smooth soup?  Get that hand blender out and blend the heck out of it.  You want it a bit thinner? Leave some chunks.  And leeks happen to be one of my favorite vegetables (I know my English teacher is pitching a fit because I started a sentence with "and").

If you've never had a leek - they are in the onion/garlic family.  It sort of looks like a "scallion on steroids"...

Don't be intimidated by them.  If you love onions, you will adore leeks.  You can make a lot of yummy things with leeks.  Quiche, for instance...soup (like this one), you can grill them (yum!) you can braise them, you can make a casserole of leeks and potatoes...the list could go on forever! 

*Silly little piece of trivia about leeks*  The leek is one of Wales' national emblems (along with the daffodil)

So, here is one of my favorite recipes using leeks.  I'll give you the main recipe - and here's the fun part - If you want "Potato and Leek Soup" just omit the carrots.  If you want "Vichyssoise" (cold potato soup) omit the carrots and spices and chill the soup.  Oh my gosh, I just gave you THREE recipes - and think of how frou frouey you'll look among all your friends if you serve them Vichyssoise (VIH-shee-swahs) for lunch one day with a tossed salad, crusty bread, and some wine? major culture brownie points there!

I got the original recipe out of a very, very, very old cookbook called "French Provincial Cooking".  It was a "fly by the seat of your pants" cookbook, because it really just gave you suggestions...the only real measurements were the vegetables and water.  The seasonings were simply "bouquet garni".  I'll leave some of the language it was written in, I thought it was kind of neat :-)  The recipe is called "Potage Bonne Femme" or translated from French, it's "Good Woman Soup"  I guess if you are a guy making it, you COULD call it "Potage Bon Homme" (Pronounced "PohTAHGE Bohn Fahmm" or "Ohm" in case you are curious - the "g" is a soft "g" like in exaGGerate) or "Good Man Soup".  Either way, it's easy, it's yummy, and there are THREE different variations!

Printable recipe, as always...HERE

1 lb. potatoes diced (about 4 medium) (Don't use baking or Idaho potatoes - use white, red, or Yukon - the baking potatoes have a grainy consistency we don't want)
3 carrots peeled and sliced
2 large leeks washed and sliced up to the light green Leeks grow in sandy soil - they also have a tendency to keep dirt in their leaves - if you are going to use the green part of the leek, the best thing to do is slice the leek lengthwise down the middle and give it a good washing - however, we are only using up to the light green part just where the bulb ends and the leaves begin - you should be fine with just a regular rinsing.
2 Tbs. butter
1 quart of chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 generous sprig of thyme (or about a tsp dried thyme leaves)
1 tsp. dried marjoram
1 tsp. salt
about 20 grinds of pepper
2 tsp. granulated sugar
1/2 cup of half and half (OR...for those watching their waistline - use 1/2 cup of skimmed evaporated milk - all the creamy goodness without the calories!)

1.  Melt the butter in a soup pot on medium to medium low heat, add the leeks and carrots, and cook until the leeks are translucent (remember, they are part of the onion family!) *letting them get hot and thoroughly saturated with butter* (that's from the old cookbook - how quaint is that?) (about 10 minutes)

2.  Add potatoes, broth, salt and a *lump or two of sugar* (I told you it was an old cookbook! about 2 tsp of granulated sugar), and the rest of the seasonings.  (Strip the thyme leaves from their stalk into the pot if using fresh thyme - they come off pretty easily.)

3.  *Cook steadily, but not at a gallop*(The imagery here is amusing...I can just see the pot growing little legs and galloping off the stove) which translated means simmer it until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.  ("How do I know if they are tender?" you ask...simple! Take a sharp knife and poke a potato.  If it falls easily off the knife, it's tender.  The carrots should be easily skewered as well)
4.  Remove the bay leaf.  If you have a hand blender, use one of those and mix the soup until it's the consistency you'd like.  If you like your soup chunky, leave a few pieces of potato and carrot unblended.  If not, go to town!  Taste it for seasoning - add more if needed, and just before serving, add the half and half.

Now...for the variations:

1.  For Vichyssoise :  Omit the spices and the carrots; serve cold, garnish with some chopped chives.

2.  For Potato and Leek soup:  Omit the carrots.
Bon appetit! Mangia! Enjoy!