By Maggie Conklin
Ham Four Ways
Ham, Day 1: My dear husband purchased the smallest bone-in ham at Meijer (or “Thrifty Acres” to us old folks) and it was still so large I had to cut the end off to get it to fit into my larger slow cooker.
I placed it on a bed of chopped onion and garlic, and a stalk of celery cut in half. I then added water and 1 cup of Dutch Grey Peas that had been left soaking overnight. (You could use any kind of dried beans that you happen to have in your pantry.)
I knew these peas/beans had a thicker jacket and creamy middle that wouldn’t break down into a hardy stew, as I usually like my ham and bean soup, so I added ¼ cup lentils and ¼ cup split peas. That worked exactly as I had hoped, creating a slightly thicker consistency to the broth.
I placed a sprig of fresh rosemary and a spring of fresh sage on top, and that’s all the seasoning it needed.
Ham, Day 2: The next day the dear husband wrapped two large sweet potatoes in foil, set them on a cookie sheet and set that on our wood-burning stove for about an hour and a half.
When I got home after work, he told me they cooked faster than he expected, and he could smell them when they were done.
We’d never tried that before and loved the finished product. Talk about free and efficient use of energy! And a tasty side to leftover ham.
Ham, Day 3: Breakfast! Most days I ask the dear husband what he wants for breakfast and I cook it. Honestly, the deciding is more difficult than the preparation, right?
This day, when I asked “what do you want for breakfast?,” he answered “Green eggs and ham.”
We had plenty of ham left over and I checked the carton of locally-laid farm fresh eggs, but only one was green. Yes, green eggs really do exist. So I had ham and brown eggs, and he had ham and one brown egg and one green egg, all over medium.
Ham, Day 4: I enjoy my ham sandwiches warm, so I sliced a thick one to fit on the bread and browned it in a frying pan in its own juices.
While that was cooking I toasted a couple slices of bread, spread it liberally with mayo and ground mustard, sliced an equally-thick slab of beefsteak tomato, and topped with a slice of sharp cheese.
Perfection!