Let’s see…

It’s 40° outside, with Turkey Day a week away.  Time for a ham.

I love ham. but buying one for two people is a commitment.  Even a quarter-cut spiral ham like the one I picked up yesterday is enough for a few dozen meals, sandwiches, and a pot of bean or lentil soup.

As I said…  a commitment.

So we started off with just the basics…  ham, sweet potatoes, and baby broccoli – with little rolls to make little sandwiches.

The sweet potatoes were a bit different than usual.  I mashed 2 small sweet potatoes with about a half-can of pumpkin I had left over.  I added a pat of butter, salt, pepper, and a bit of thyme.  They came out really good.

We barely put a dent in it.

As I said… a few dozen meals.  I see a mac and cheese with ham and peas in our future, and maybe even fried ham sandwiches.  My father used to make fried ham sandwiches that were just to die for.  Fried ham on toast with butter.  That was back in the day when ham came in a tear-drop-shaped can and you needed a little key to open them.  The same type of key that was on coffee cans.   Yes.  Coffee used to come in metal cans.  Actual one-pound cans that had one pound of coffee in them.  My mom used to use them to make Coffee Can Bread.

But I digress…

We’re getting ready for Thanksgiving…  Planning the menu and starting to buy what we can.  Around here it is a pretty much made-from-scratch meal, so a lot of things can’t be bought until the last minute.  If the gods are willing, I’ll be able to finish shopping Tuesday and spend Wednesday in the kitchen having fun.  It’s a small group this year – 13, I think – so it will be pretty no-rush relaxing.

And then there’s the Turkey Soup!  The best part of the holiday!