The After Easter Ham Bone Proves Its Worth

This year for Easter dinner, we  bought a smoked pork picnic shoulder with a bone.  I made   a glaze of currant jelly, coarse mustard and brown sugar, and a chutney of rhubarb, dried cranberries, vinegar and spices.  Incredibly good. 
Ham, Glaze and Chutney recipes

The only changes I made was parsley instead of watercress, which I couldn't find, and I substituted craisins for currants in the chutney because I was out of currants.  We loved the chutney.  We had a 7 pound ham, as we were only four people .


Rhubarb, by the way,  can be hard to find in some supermarkets.  The clerks don't know what it is and even the people in the PRODUCE department may be unfamiliar with it.  Chances are your grandparents grew it if they had a garden..

The reason I got a ham with a bone (besides flavor) was that a ham bone with bits of meat is a wonderful flavor enhancer for bean, pea or lentil soup.  I made bean soup, using the ancient Better Homes and Garden recipe from an old cookbook I found at the book drop at the recycling center.  It was straight forward and I added fresh thyme instead of dried, and added a few tablespoons of chopped parsley.  Did not add potatoes.  Aren't beans starchy enough?  Used some leftover chicken broth and the rest water.  Cooked the beans (after soaking) with the ham and thyme, as well as a bay leaf, then added onion, garlic, carrot and celery and cooked for half an hour until the beans were done. I browned 2 strips of thick cut bacon and added it to the soup for extra flavor.   Add parsley before serving.  I could have added the ham skin when I first cooked the beans if I hadn't already ditched it.  I'm sure it adds a lot of flavor and never knew about this possibility because so few hams actually have the skin anymore.  Another virtue of the old fashioned ham.  Naturally we had ham sandwiches and ham and eggs before the soup

I was out of Bisquick, so I made biscuits from scratch, using buttermilk.  Yesterday to serve with the soup on the 2nd day (it was even better), I bought a package of "baby grands" biscuits at the supermarket.  Yikes!  Those suckers are pricey.  We decided we actually like the Bisquick biscuits best.  Maybe I'm just used to them. 

The soup tastes better on the second day.  Made salad out of the leftover asparagus and green beans and even garnished it with a leftover hard boiled egg.  You can never eat too many veggies.  The leftover chutney tasted wonderful on cottage cheese. 

The ham extended Easter another few days and gave good value.  I got 14 servings out of a $9.00 ham or 64 cents for a serving of quality protein.  Not bad. 

The Cheeseparer

Dolores Greshaw's Rhubarb Bread

We were in New York on Long Island last week, and the rhubarb was up and thriving in my friend's garden.  It is expensive in the stores, but maybe you, too, have a friend or some plants or can find it at a farmer's market. 


I like to use it in a compote of red fruits.  Yesterday I mixed it with cranberries and blueberries from the freezer.  Add sugar to taste, a bit of liquid (I used water and orange juice) a grating of orange rind, and simmer until the fruits are cooked.  We like it with a dollop of whipped cream.  This works well with any red berry, and especially currants.  Use your imagination. 


With the rest of the rhubarb, I made Dolores Greshaw's Rhubarb bread which is an old recipe I got from the Boston Globe, maybe even the Chicago Tribune.  My guess is the Globe.  I couldn't find the Greshaw recipe on the web, but here is one with the exact ingredients.  I think it makes a slightly larger loaf.  


Rhubarb Bread  


Enjoy!  Tonight I'm making Enchiladas Verdes.  The grocery had tomatillos on sale yesterday.  I had part of a roasted chicken in the freezer and some cheese and tortillas, so this is a cheap dinner for two nights.  I'll  let you know the outcome.    Enchiladas Verdes are one of my favorite Mexican foods.  Refried beans were also on sale, a dollar per can, such a deal.  Eating cheap  doesn't mean eating poorly.   Avocados were also on sale for a buck.  Ole!  


The Cheeseparer