it was and is. If we’re being honest, as far as the food is concerned, I’m way more excited about the pea soup made with the “left over” ham hock than i was the ham it came from. Same goes with the turkey sandwhiches.

Maybe there’s something wrong with me.

Tomorrow… and tomorrow… creeps the… something something… told by an idiot.

And now I want crepes…

It’s pretty simple, in a pot (or slow cooker, if you prefer,) and simmer until its done:

• a ham hock
• 5-6 cups vegetable stock
• 4 carrots chopped medium
• 3-4 celery stalks chopped medium
• small onion, chopped fine
• potato chopped medium (this is kind of optional.)
• marjoram to taste, if you don’t have any or you’d prefer, thyme and oregano.
• ham, if you’re using a left-over ham bone from a smoked ham, there’s probably already some still on the base (especially for spiral cuts,) toss it all in, and pull/clean it off later. ( take care to trim off fat and connective tissue.) or you can add cubed ham as well.
• add salt slowly while it’s cooking, the ham hock will likely release some.

For the stock, I made my own using kitchen scraps (it was mostly carrots, celery, onion, with garlic ginger and mushrooms to round it out a bit. super easy to make if you store your veggie scraps in a freezer ziplock; just it all in a giant pot of water. until flavorful. season to taste.)

it’s not a hard and fast recipe, though, especially on the vegetables. if you’re buying veggie stock, you can make up extra with water instead.

as it’s cooking, especially in a pot, stir it occasionally because the peas will settle into a sort of sludge on the bottom and then scorch. It’s more forgiving in a slow cooker, mind. If you need to thicken it a bit more, some corn starch or dairy (or both) will do the trick. or… just boil it some more. it’s forgiving. I had mine on a fast simmer for about an hour, then another half on a slow simmer.