Crock pot split pea soup

Green split pea soup is so delicious, filling, very economical, and naturally thickens itself!

I buy a shank ham with bone, cook it up, then save the bone with some meat still on, to use in the soup.

I have tried fat back, salt pork, bacon, and ham bone.  Not all at the same time!

The winner hands down, no comparison, is the ham bone.  The bone has marrow inside it and that flavors the soup like nothing else.

Also, I have tried cooking on stove top, and crock pot.

Again, the best is the crock pot.

I use really good quality chicken/vegetable stock (Better than Bouillon), 2 bags of the green split peas, 4 sliced carrots, 1/4 cup diced onions, water, and salt and pepper.  I cook in the crock pot on high for 5 or 6 hours.
The good thing is that you cannot over cook the soup.  The ham bone is high in salt, so be careful of the amount of salt you add.
Always use fresh ground black pepper.  As soon as the whole peppercorns are crushed, they release the wonderful fresh pepper aroma.  When you use already ground pepper, you have to use twice as much because who knows how long ago it was ground.  They even sell whole peppercorns in a ready to use grinder, in case you don't own your own.  And if you don't, please invest a small amount of money and buy one!

Remove the ham bone, skim fat off the top, and adjust seasonings.  I like to mash the soup with a potato masher, so it becomes more creamy. Like I said at the beginning, the split peas are a natural thickener, so you don't need to add any cornstarch or roux.

Spring preview

Today is February 17 and the sun is shining bright.  The current temperature is 49, and going up to 60!!!

Tomorrow is going to be 65 degrees.  After that the temperature returns to it's usual 40ish during the day.

But, with the weather around here, it'best to enjoy the moment, as it will change, usually towards the nasty side, especially during the months of February and March.

SCRAPPLE

Don't let anyone tell you that scrapple is not good, or that is made from all of the pig's parts that no one would ever eat, like pig eyes, pig snouts, and pig toenails!

Yes, it's true, the only thing left of a pig is the squeal.  But, those parts are used in the making of pet foods, etc., not in scrapple.

Last year, my family and I visited Scrapple Fest in Philadelphia.  The waft of scrapple frying filled the air.   I was amazed how crowded it was!  It was held at the Reading Terminal Market, which if you've never been, you MUST visit.  The array of scents are intoxicating.   They have every kind of food you could ever imagine.

I found an amazing balsamic vinegar that was far superior than the selection at my local supermarket. 
We indulged in free samples of scrapple, and ordered a giant fresh baked chocolate chip cookie that oozed melted chocolate goodness in our mouths.

They had excess samples of no meat scrapple.  What's the point again?  It was awful!  It was like having no chocolate chocolate!

When my sister visited from Florida a few years ago, we drove up to the Reading, PA outlets to visit a huge kitchen supply store.  It is a foodie dream come true.  I found a book that listed a homemade scrapple recipe.  It called for ground pork shoulder, corn meal, and spices. 
It was a good thing, too, because I really would not know where to look for pig noses.  I wouln't want to eat that anyway! 

It is difficult to find good scrapple East of the Mississippi, so when you visit, order a side of scrapple with your eggs and ask for ketchup, not for the eggs, but for the scrapple. 
If you love bacon and sausage, you will flip over scrapple.  It is amazing.
http://www.readingterminalmarket.org/

All Natural Cleaning/Sanitizing Mixtures for your Kitchen

Garbage Disposal Cleaner and sharpener:

  Place several ice cubes into garbage disposal, run cold water, turn on and turn off when the garbage disposal has ground up all the ice.

For clean smelling garbage disposal:  Put in 1/4 cup baking soda and let sit for 10 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup white vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes.  Turn on disposal, with water running, for 30 seconds.

Lemon juice works great for a quick fresh smelling disposal.

Coffee Pot Cleaner:


I see they sell a coffee pot cleaner at the store.  Why?  More chemicals?  Enough!  Fill up your carafe or water reservoir with plain white vinegar, let sit for 30 minutes. Turn on coffee pot as if you are making a pot of coffee.  Once done, turn off, empty vinegar and put in fresh cold water and run through again TWO more times with cold water in order to remove all traces of sediment and vinegar residue.
This will keep your coffee maker running smoother and fresher.  Depending on how much you use your coffee pot, you can clean it this way every month or two months.
The great thing is, it is very affordable, no chemicals, and all natural, so if you use this method three times a month, it will be fine!

All Natural Cleaning for Microwave Oven

Buy cheap bottle of lemon juice.
Pour 1/2 cup lemon juice plus 1/2 cup water in Pyrex or oven-proof glassware.
Place in microwave.
Put in for 6 minutes on high setting.

Open microwave oven--CAREFUL-IT WILL BE VERY HOT-- and it will smell wonderful, plus it will loosen any baked on food so you can easily clean up with paper towels.

 

Also, some of the mixture will have boiled over onto the bottom of your oven, but that's fine, you just soak it up with paper towels.

All natural, very affordable, and it works great!

Seafood Toasts-Makes 12 appetizers

1 French baguette, cut into 1/2-inch rounds
2 Tbsp good-quality olive oil
2 Tbsp Mayonnaise
7 oz smoked salmon
3 Tbsp Vinaigrette-(oil and vinegar dressing-recipe to follow)
24 small shrimp-cooked and cooled


1.  Preheat oven to 375F.  
2.  Brush a little olive oil on the bread, place on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes or until golden brown.
3.  Spread the toasted bread slices with a little of the mayonnaise.
4.  Place smoked salmon on top of bread, dress with vinaigrette, arrange a couple of the shrimp, and top it all off with a little mayonnaise and fresh chopped parsley.


                VINAIGRETTE-Oil & Vinegar dressing
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
Salt, fresh ground pepper
1 Tbsp finely diced onion
1 Tbsp finely diced scallion
1 Tbsp finely diced garlic
2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley


1.  Whisk together the oil and vinegar in a bowl and season to taste.  Whisk in remaining seasonings.  Store in fridge up to two weeks.  Note:  Keep dice VERY fine.

Packers Win Super Bowl!!! I predicted it, oh yeah!, plus update on Chili Contest

I called it, the Packers will win.  I had a TON of opposition, believe me.  All the "experts" said, Steelers all the way!  All my friends, the male ones, said Steelers. Ha ha, I have the last laugh.  And believe me, I will rub it in their faces!

It's not that I am a Packers fan, on the contrary, I am a big Eagles fan, through and through.  Which is why I root  for the underdog, always.  It's great.

I think the Steelers mailed the game in, because I think they were so full of themselves, they actually thought they had won already without showing up.  That's when the underdog attacks, and wins.

In the playoffs, the Green Bay Packers beat the Eagles, so I had to root for the Packers.

Also, Michael Vick won Come back athlete, yeah, Go Vick!!!

Today is the day of the Chili Contest, keep your fingers crossed!