Summer Ham and Corn Soup

It’s been a hot minute, yeah? I’ve spent the last eleven years teaching 6th grade math which is more than enough of a full-time job and blogging fell aside. Did I stop making soup? No. Did I have time to write and photograph? Also no. 

But now it’s summer break and I have this urge to experiment with soup again, 

The people who live in my house are now just me and Mr. Soup. The kids have households of their own. Boo. No more lunchbox drama. And now with July giving me that breathing room that only July can bring, I have some time to brush the dust off an old blog. I have been making food every weekend for my father-in-law since we just lost my mother-in-law… and soup is the one sure way to his heart and stomach. Providing him with some tangible homemade love is doing Mr. Soup and I good. (Today Mr. Soup shucked the corn because I verifiably hate that) 

So here we go. And right off the bat I’m going to break one of my original cardinal rules. I’m going to make some stock from scratch. But only because it’s summer stock! Ham hocks and corn cobs for the base. 

This is brothy and light enough for July soup. It’s really tasty, even if it isn’t super pretty. We hope you enjoy as well! 

Summer Ham and Corn Soup

Makes around 15 cups of soup. Reheats beautifully. 

Stock

1 large carrot, quartered, fat end sliced in half

2 celery stalks, quartered, fattest 1/4 cut in half

1 yellow onion, peeled, cut into sixths

8 whole peppercorns

2 bay leaves

8 c. lower sodium chicken broth (I use Swanson Natural Goodness)

8 c. water

4-6 corn cobs, kernels cut off and reserved. Use the back of a knife to scrape all the corn milk off of the cobs into the stock

2 large ham hocks or 3 smaller

Combine all ingredients into a stock pot. Bring to a simmer and let it go around 3 hours. Strain into a separate container, leaving all the solids behind. You should have around 10 cups of stock. Take the ham hocks and shred the meat off and reserve. At this point if you want less fat in the broth you can chill it and take the solidified fat off the top. I did not. 

Soup

1 T extra virgin olive oil 

1/2 yellow onion, diced 

1 clove of garlic, pressed through a press 

2 celery stalks, diced 

10 c. ham and corn cob stock

2 large Yukon gold potatoes, diced

1/2 c. minced fresh parsley

1 1/2 c. shredded ham hock meat

Reserved corn kernels

2 t. tobasco

2 t. cider vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Minced chives for garnish (optional)

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a stock pot until shimmering, but not smoking. Add onions and sauté until translucent, around 7 minutes. Add in pressed garlic and cook until fragrant, around 30 more seconds. Add in the celery and saute an additional 3-5 minutes. 

Once the vegetable base is ready, add the stock and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add in the potatoes and cook just until potatoes are tender, but not falling apart. 10-15 minutes depending on your dice size. Add in the ham until it is heated through and then last add the corn kernels, you don’t want to cook them too long, you want that sweet pop and texture they add to summer. Finally stir in your parsley and tobasco and vinegar. Taste, and adjust seasoning as needed. If desired, serve with minced chives on top.

Soup for One: Spicy Potsticker Soup

The first time the Christmas tree fell over it wasn't too bad. Yes, a bunch of those shiny silver ball ornaments were crushed and it made a ginormous mess, but none of our special ornaments were damaged. We got it cleaned up, back upright, re-decorated, and moved on.

When it fell over for the second time, landing on my laptop and the glass coffee table and shattering ornaments far and wide, I was so over the holidays. But despite my best efforts, the people who live in my house wouldn't let me cancel Christmas.

So we cleaned up, AGAIN, and this time we threw the stupid Christmas tree out on the deck, all 10 feet, approximately 479 pounds of it. Pretty sure I muttered, "And STAY out!" when it hit the deck. Next, we hauled up the ghetto fake Christmas tree from the garage and the people who live in my house had a wonderful time decorating this Plan B tree with every horrible hand-made Christmas ornament their teachers had inflicted upon us over the years. They took special glee in putting the particularly ugly and tacky ones front and center.

The Christmas spirit was restored. Such that it was.

When I was finally allowed to box up Christmas, there was a definite level of satisfaction. Time for soup! But again with the problems. 3 out of 4 people who live in this house thought that cheeseburgers sounded better than soup. In the past, I may have interpreted this as a challenge to create a Cheeseburger Soup for the win. But I haven't been so much on a winning streak lately. Conceding, I simply put Mr. Soup on hamburger duty and I made myself a delicious soup for one.

And for those of you keeping score, that's People Who Live in My House: 3, Soup-a-Woman: 0.

Spicy Potsticker Soup

Broth

2 T. toasted sesame oil
2 T. finely minced fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 T. rice vinegar
2 T. creamy peanut butter
2 t. good quality fish sauce (I like Red Boat)
1 T. sriracha (use less if you don't like it pretty fiery)
4 c. chicken broth
2 c. water

Heat oil in pan over medium heat until hot, but not smoking. Add in the ginger and garlic and sauté briefly, around 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add in the remaining ingredients, whisking to combine them well and simmer the broth for 20 minutes to combine and balance the flavors. This is quite spicy, so if you're sensitive to heat really watch the sriracha amount.

For the Soup

For each serving:
1 1/2 c. broth
4 frozen potstickers (I use Ling Ling brand)
Sautéed mushrooms
Sliced baby bok choy
Shredded carrot
Sliced green onions

This is a different soup than my normal approach. Normally I make a big pot and freeze individual containers. However, because I'm using frozen potstickers for this soup, I simply made a pot of broth and refrigerated it. The broth will keep 4 or 5 days in the fridge, no problem. Then, I prepped the vegetables and refrigerated them separately. When I wanted a bit of soup, I simply scooped out a cup and a half of broth, heated it to a simmer, then added 4 potstickers and cooked them in the broth 7 minutes (until cooked through) and then stirred in some of my reserved vegetables. Simmer one additional minute to heat the vegetables and Voila! Soup for one!

Late Leftovers: Pepperjack Potato Soup with Bacon

A good blogger would have had a Thanksgiving leftover post pre-planned. A good blogger would have created a recipe ahead of time, photographed and written it up, and posted an update the day after Thanksgiving so that all of you staring at your leftovers could be inspired! A good blogger would not wait until 2 weeks later, when the leftovers were long gone and you all have mentally moved onto Christmas.

Probably a good blogger wouldn't create recipes in nearly illegible handwriting on napkins, either.

<---- my "Creative Process" at work.

Don't judge.

Clearly, I am more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants blogger.

When Thanksgiving was settled this year I didn't have too much in the way of leftovers in the fridge. We pretty much decimated the turkey with sandwiches, and I had sent most of the sides home with guests. However, because I had hoarded them for myself, I had a generous portion of mashed potatoes.

In general, I find mashed potatoes an excellent excuse to eat way more butter than is good for me.

But, after mainlining butter for a couple of days, I was ready for a change. Leftover mashed potatoes seemed like a gimme for a potato and cheese soup, but I wanted something with a little more kick and a little less commonplace. When I found a brick of pepperjack cheese and a package of bacon in the fridge I knew I was onto the start of something delicious.

Besides, it's at least conceivable you might have mashed potatoes for Christmas, right? And then it's like I'm AHEAD of the game.

Pepperjack Potato Soup with Bacon
Serves 4

3 slices thick bacon, sliced into 1/4" slices
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)
3 T. canned chopped green chilis
2 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press
2 T. all-purpose flour
1 can chicken broth (14 1/2 oz.)
1 1/2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
1/2 c. half and half
8 oz. pepperjack cheese, grated
several shakes of green Tabasco sauce
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Garnish: Diced green onion tops & additional grated cheese

In a heavy-bottomed soup pot set over medium heat, cook the bacon until it is crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside on paper towels for garnish.

You should have about 2 T. of bacon fat in the bottom of your pan. Eyeball it... if it seems like you have way more, pour a little off. If you don't have enough, add a little butter. Add the diced onions to the pan, and sauté, scraping the bottom of the pan often, until the onions are crisp-tender and coated with the bacon fond. (About 8 minutes.) Add the green chilis and sauté another 2 or 3 minutes. Add garlic, and stir to combine.

Add the flour, and stir constantly until the vegetable mixture is well-coated and the flour has lost its raw taste, around 2-3 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, then add the potatoes and stir well. Add half and half, and then heat soup until it is simmering and thickened slightly. Reduce heat to low and stir in the cheese a handful at a time until it is well combined. Add Tabasco and salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, dish soup into bowls and top with reserved bacon, diced green onion tops, and additional grated cheese.

Maintaining Traditions: Broccoli Cheese Soup with Apple

Thanksgiving was pretty mellow this year. There were only 9 of us, so I bought a 16 lb. turkey, which is the smallest I've cooked in years.

Which actually turned out to be kind of problematic... because the turkey ended up hitting temperature about an hour before I thought it would be done and I hadn't put ANYTHING else in the oven yet. As I'm standing in the kitchen staring wide-eyed at the completely cooked bird while simultaneously calculating all the side dishes that weren't even close to done, Mr. Soup came in and asked if I wanted him to rice the potatoes for me. There was an edge of terror in my voice as I replied, "I haven't even BOILED the potatoes yet!"

So, when I say Thanksgiving was mellow, I'm referring to everything except that final hour before I served dinner. That hour was pretty much hell.

On the bright side, I had already served the annual soup, following our tradition of serving it in teacups. This year I made a broccoli cheese soup, because it's my mom's favorite.  I find broccoli a tad bit bitter - it is part of the cabbage family, after all. So to balance the bitterness a bit I added some apple. Apple is so very Thanksgiving-y anyway. And to make it rich and creamy, I added a generous portion of extra-sharp white cheddar. Calories don't count on Thanksgiving.

And if a creamy broccoli cheesy cup of goodness won't mellow you out, nothing will.

Broccoli Cheese Soup with Apple

3 T. butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 t. salt
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped (about 1 generous cup)
3 T. all-purpose flour
4 c. broccoli florets (I bought a bag at Costco because I'm lazy)
4 c. chicken broth
1 c. cream
8 oz. extra-sharp white Cheddar Cheese, grated (I used Tillamook)
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste

In a large heavy soup pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add onion and salt and sauté until onon is quite soft and starting to caramelize in spots, stirring often, around 12 minutes or so. Stir in the chopped apple and stir again to combine. Add the flour, and stir and cook until the raw scent of flour has left the pot, around 2 more minutes.

Add the broccoli florets and the chicken broth and bring the whole mixture to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered until the broccoli is entirely soft, around 20-25 minutes. Add the cream, and then use an immersion blender to smooth out the whole soup. This might take a little patience. Stir in the cheese until it's completely melted. Do not boil once you add the cheese.

This is one of those rare soups that tastes great right out of the gate. I made it 2 days ahead for Thanksgiving, and thought it lost a little oomph in the cheese department as it sat. I ended up adding more cheese right before serving. I wouldn't recommend this one for freezing, but it's still tasty 2 days post-holiday, so it will last in the fridge a few days.

Hamzilla is Dead; Long Live Hamzilla: Smoky White Bean and Ham Soup

Recently I was rooting around deep inside my freezer, looking for ice packs for lunch boxes. Whatever little piece of DNA compels normal humans to clean out their lunch boxes after school and refreeze the ice pack is obviously missing in the genetic makeup of the people who live in my house.

So. Anyway. I'm rooting around deep inside the freezer and I come across a large chunk of something that I can't identify at first. And then it hits me... it's the final remains of Hamzilla!  Okay, fine, he's been in the freezer quite awhile (probably a whole lot longer than the FDA would recommend for food safety purposes). And okay, fine, he's a little frost-bitten around the edges (because I apparently was so sick of him I just threw him unadorned into a gallon-zip-lock without even wrapping him in saran wrap first)... but these are mere trifles and NOTHING a soak in some brothy soup can't cure.

And better yet, I know exactly the brothy deliciousness I want to soak him in. Lately, I have been absolutely craving a particular soup I haven't posted yet. It's hearty, with the perfect notes of smoke from ham AND bacon and a good amount of heat. I scored the original of this recipe from a recipe swapping forum I've been a part of  practically since the internet was invented. The poster who shared said it was her dad's favorite soup and she tried to make a pot of it every year. I've made adjustments over time to suit my tastes... but the basics of his recipe are still there. You can find his original recipe here... shout-out to magnoliainchicago! He called it Ray's Dallas Cowboy Bean Soup.  I call it a perfect send-off.

RIP Hamzilla.
In mah belly.

Smoky White Bean and Ham Soup
adapted and inspired by Ray's Dallas Cowboy Bean Soup

1 lb. white beans, soaked overnight (I have used canned in the past when I didn't have time, and it worked fine too)
1/2 lb. bacon, diced
2 yellow onions, diced (3 cups)
2 carrots, peeled and diced (2 cups)
4 celery stalks, diced (2 cups)
3 cloves garlic, pushed through a garlic press
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
2 t. seasoned salt (I like Johnny's the best)
1 t. paprika
12 c. water
2 t. Tabasco (or less, if you don't like much heat)
1 T sugar
1/2 c. ketchup
Leftover ham - either on the bone or off - today I had about a 2 lb. section.

Heat a large (really, think LARGE) heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Add diced bacon, and sauté until fat has rendered and it crisps up. Remove all but about 3 T. of the bacon fat and add the onions and sauté until softened, about 8 minutes, stirring often to bring the bacon fond up off the bottom of the pot. Add the carrots and celery and continue to sauté another 5 minutes or so. Add in garlic, red pepper flakes, seasoned salt, and paprika and stir to combine.

Pour water over vegetables, and add the beans, Tabasco, sugar, and ketchup to the pot. Stir to combine well and then add your leftover ham. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to allow soup to simmer, uncovered for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until the beans are tender and the ham is falling apart.

Remove ham from soup, allow to cool slightly, then shred and add back into soup.

And in the words of magnoliainchicago's dad, "EAT IT!"

Soup-a-Season! Roasted Sweet Potato and Onion Soup with Andouille, Pecan & Kale Relish

Yes, I have a new soup for you! No... it's not posted here. I have been asked to do a quarterly seasonal guest post gig on another blog, a little blog told me. For Fall, I created a tasty Roasted Sweet Potato and Onion Soup with Andouille, Pecan, and Kale Relish. Seriously... it is that. good.

Check it out!

Roasted Sweet Potato and Onion Soup with Andouille, Pecan, and Kale Relish

Tuna Throwdown: Fire-Roasted Pepper and Tomato Soup with Jalapeño Tuna and Cilantro Cream

I was recently contacted by a fabulous local company, Island Trollers, and asked if I would like to come up with a recipe and feature their product on my blog. And my brain was like, "Holy crap! Someone wants me to use MY blog to feature their amazing product!" And my mouth (okay, my fingers, because it was on facebook) was like, "Yes, YES! That would be awesome!"

And I felt like I was really getting SOMEWHERE with this whole blogging thing. I was a rock star!

There may have been wine involved.

And then my brain started to nudge me with something. A niggling piece of information I had overlooked in my euphoria. The conversation went a little like this:

Me: I can't believe it! This is going to be so awesome!
Brain: Island Trollers.
Me: I KNOW, right???
Brain: What do they troll for?
Me: Albacore!!!
Brain: So... tuna.
Me: Yes, of course!!!
Brain: Tuna. Soup.
Me:  ........

I LOVE tuna.... but if I'm being honest, I'm strictly a tuna sandwich kind of gal. I like my tuna salad made a very specific way and the most adventurous I get about it is maybe, maybe, mixing up the bread I eat it on. On top of that, I have never, not once in my whole life, eaten nor made tuna casserole. (And have no plans to do so - so please don't send me your grandma's recipe.) So the idea of tuna - in a soup - threw me for a loop.

BUT. If you dare to title your blog Soup-a-Woman, you can't let tuna be your kryptonite. What with leaping over tall soup pots in a single bound and that sort of thing...

So I set out to create something delicious.The first and most obvious choice was a chowder. Seafood and chowder love each other. But when I did a little research I found that not only was there already a tuna chowder in the blogging world, it actually featured Island Trollers! The blog Life Currents actually features several recipes highlighting Island Trollers products, including a chowder.

Once the tuna arrived, however, I realized I didn't have much to worry about. Island Trollers has the most amazing troll-caught albacore, and even better, it's fresh canned in several flavors: Alder Smoked, Garlic, Habañero, Capers, Jalapeño. I decided to use those flavors to my advantage and elevate this soup to a whole new level.





Eventually I settled on a fire-roasted bell pepper soup that would feature their Jalapeño Albacore and started building a recipe from there. The end result is fresh, healthy, and lovely. It turned out not only to be delicious, but a beautiful and surprisingly elegant soup that is company-worthy. Throwdown win.

Kryptonite? As if.

But I'm still not going to eat tuna casserole.

_________________________________________________________________________________
Fire-Roasted Pepper and Tomato Soup with Jalepeño Tuna and Cilantro Cream
Serves 4

4 yellow bell peppers, seeded, roasted, peeled and roughly chopped  (directions below)
2 T. butter
1 1/2 c. diced red onion (1 medium onion)
1/2 t. salt
1 clove garlic, pressed through garlic press
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. paprika
1 14-oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes
4 c. chicken broth (this makes a thin soup, if you want it thicker, reduce broth to 3 or 3 1/2 cups)
1-2 T. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can Island Trollers Jalapeño Tuna, drained (or Habañero if you want even a little more kick)
Cilantro Cream (recipe follows)

Melt butter in a medium heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Add the diced red onion and the salt and sautee, stirring occassionally until onions are tender, around 8-10 minutes.

Stir in garlic, pepper, cumin, and paprika and stir to coat all the onions. Add the tomatoes and the roasted peppers and the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer, and let simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes, or until vegetables are very soft. Using an immersion blender (or a regular blender) puree until the soup is very smooth. Stir in lime juice and taste for seasoning.

Cilantro Cream:
1/2 c. packed cilantro leaves
1/2 medium jalepeño, seeded and roughly chopped
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 c. sour cream

Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Set aside until ready for garnish. (Tip: Putting the cilantro cream in an empty squeeze bottle makes it easier to make the swirls.)

To assemble soup: Using a shallow bowl, mound a portion of flaked tuna in the center of the bowl. Carefully ladle some of the soup around the tuna, and garnish with cilantro cream.

Roasted Peppers:

I find it much easier to clean and roast the peppers if you prepare them this way: Cut each pepper in half, remove the seeds and the white pithy membranes inside each half and carefully cut out the stems. Place the halves, skin side up on a broiler pan or cookie sheet and broil on high about 3" away from the heating element. Rotate the pan around as necessary to ensure even cooking. Remove from oven when skins are charred and puffed up in sections, but the flesh is still firm... around 10 minutes or so. Transfer peppers immediately to a gallon-sized zip-lock bag and seal it shut. Let pepper sit 10-15 minutes in the bag. This will steam them and allow the skins to come off more easily. Remove skins from peppers - do NOT rinse them... you'll just wash all the flavor away.

A Season of Change: Creamy Brie, Bacon, and Kale Soup

Ah, September. My nemesis.

August, now, August is amazeballs. It's the one month in Washington State where you are pretty much guaranteed gorgeous weather. It's the one month that I get to participate in the Washington Trails Association's Hike-a-Thon - which is like a license to hike! Whenever. I. Want. This August I hiked 100 miles and raised $1275.00! It's the one month where after an entire summer of automatically waking up at 6:00 am, I start to be able to sleep in just a little bit... luxuriously stretching out until 7:30 some mornings. Awesome.

And then September comes and ruins ALL of that!

No more hiking. September is for running around like crazy people trying to get everything done before school starts. September sucks money from our bank account like a leech: back-to-school supplies, clothes, yearbooks, ASB cards, pictures, sporting equipment, clothes, parking passes, clothes. Clothes. Clothes. Clothes. (We do have two teenage girls, after all.) And most rudely, the alarm starts going off at 5:30 five mornings a week. September is stupid.

Except for one small redemption. The leaves start to turn, the nights are a little chillier, we actually close the windows for the first time in a month, and my soup cookbooks drift off the bookshelf like falling leaves and start to scatter themselves around the house. One by my laptop, three by the bathtub, one in the kitchen windowsill, four by my bed. Soup season has arrived. Ah, September. Maybe it's a love-hate relationship after all.

Creamy Brie, Bacon, and Kale Soup is pure comfort in a bowl. Some of my friends expressed reservations about the calorie count, but as I told them, it's soup. That makes it automatically good for you. And it has KALE in it. Besides, I've had to put aside my August nirvana for another 11 months, so dammit, I deserve a little decadence in my life.




Creamy Brie, Bacon, and Kale Soup
serves 6-8

6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into thin strips
1/4 c. butter
1 large leek, washed well, white and light green parts sliced thinly (about 2 c.)
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced (about 1/2 c.)
1 clove of garlic, pressed through a press
1/2 t. fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
4 c. chicken broth
3/4 lb. Brie cheese, cut into cubes, rind left on
1/2 c. heavy cream
1-2 large leaves of curly kale, stemps removed, washed, and minced very finely. (about 2 c.)
Salt and Pepper to taste 

In a skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate and set aside.

In a large heavy-bottomed soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the leeks and sprinkle them with a little kosher salt. Let the leeks sweat, stirring occasionally, until they're quite soft, 8-10 minutes. Add the celery and cook until it softens, 2-4 minutes longer. Stir in the garlic and the thyme and combine well.

Add the flour, and stir continually until the flour loses its raw taste, about 2 minutes. Add the broth, and whisk it all together. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then let it simmer for 10 minutes longer.

Reduce heat to medium-low and add the brie. Keep the rind on... it will add that distinct brie taste. The rind won't melt at this stage, but don't worry, once you use the immersion blender it will all smooth out. Stir until the cheese has melted. Add the cream. Then, using an immersion blender (or a regular blender in batches) blend the soup until it is perfectly smooth. Stir in the bacon, the kale and salt and pepper to taste. The kale should cook in the residual heat of the soup since you've minced it so finely. Serve hot.

This soup chills well, and I thought it was even better the next day. Do reheat gently, though. Don't boil as the cheese may separate.

Hamzilla Take Two: Ham and Gruyere Chowder with Wild Rice

It's time to face facts. 20 pounds of leftover ham is too much of a good thing. A week ago I would've argued that there was no such thing as too much smoked pork butt yumminess... but I would've been wrong. People that live in this house are starting to give me murderous glances when I mention the h-word. Self-preservation is in order!

No worries, though, I can work with this. They're sick of bean and ham soup? Ham sandwiches a no-go? Know thine enemy, I always say. They all absolutely love Clam Chowder. All I need to do is make a ham chowder dripping with the cheesy goodness of Gruyere running through it. And then to further entice them, I'll throw in some wild rice. And HA! I'll serve it in bread bowls... which automatically makes EVERYTHING delicious and makes the doubters in this family make little swooning noises.

And to further save myself, I'm going to concede and freeze the rest of Hamzilla without putting him in any more soups. I've pushed the ham envelope as far as it will go. For now.

P.S. (Which, by the way, stands for Post Soup) Tired of ham or not, I think this is one of  the best soups I've ever made. The cheese gives an amazing silky mouth-feel and the rice adds a nutty chewiness that we all loved. Delicious!

Ham and Gruyere Chowder with Wild Rice

4 T. butter
1 lg. onion, small-diced, about 2 cups
2 carrots, small-diced
2 stalks celery, small-diced
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper
1/2 t. paprika
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, pressed through a garlic press
1/4 c. flour
4 c. chicken broth
2 c. cooked wild rice blend (I like Lundberg's)
2 c. small-diced leftover ham (you could use a large dice if your family isn't ready to kill you over ham)
2 c. cream (I'm sure you could use half and half, but I had cream)
1/4 c. finely chopped parsley
4 c. grated Gruyere cheese, tossed with 2 T. flour

In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Be careful not to brown it. Add diced onions and stir and saute them until they take on a lovely golden yellow color. You're not looking for full caramelization, but definitely past the point of simple translucence. Maybe 12 minutes or so?

Add in the carrots, celery, pepper, paprika, and the bay leaf. Continue to saute for an addition 3-5 minutes, or until vegetables start to soften. Stir in the garlic until fragrant, 30 seconds or so. Add flour and stir until all the vegetables are well coated and flour has lost its raw flavor. 1-2 minutes.

Add chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add rice and diced ham and simmer 10-15 minutes or so, until ham is heated through and flavors combine. Stir in cream and heat until small bubbles are forming around the edges, stirring frequently. Remove the bay leaf and add in the parsley.

Turn heat to very low. Stirring constantly, add Gruyere one small handful at a time, waiting until each handful is completely melted and incorporated into the soup before you add the next. Once all the cheese is melted, serve!

If you re-heat this, be careful not to boil or it may separate.

Hamzilla: Winter's 15-Bean Soup with Ham

A few days before Christmas Eve, my mom asked if we could transfer the annual family gathering from her house to my house. Our house is closer to all of the cousins and since most of us had to work that morning, getting to and from my house would be much quicker for everyone. To entice me further, she said she'd provide most of the food, as she was planning a simple dinner of freshly baked ham made into sandwiches with several salads as sides.

No problem, Mom.

And then she dropped IT off. A 25-pound ham. No, that's not a typo. 25 POUNDS of ham... and not pre-cooked, either. I didn't even know you could buy a ham that size! As we shifted it around the fridge, we took to calling it Hamzilla.

On Christmas Eve, everyone enjoyed the sandwiches and raved about the rolls, which we bought from The Breadfarm. At the end of the evening, they departed in the same whirl they arrived in, leaving wrapping paper and bows strewn everywhere and approximately 20 pounds of Hamzilla still sitting on my kitchen counter. I do so love ham, but seriously? That's a whole lotta pork butt.

You remember how I felt guilty when I posted two soups in a row using kielbasa? Yeah. You should probably mentally prepare yourself for Ham-a-palooza. Starring Hamzilla.

Winter's 15-Bean Soup with Ham

1 20-oz bag of 15-bean mix (throw out that weird "ham flavoring packet" that comes with it... we'll be getting our ham flavor from actual ham, thankyouverymuch)
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, medium diced, about 2 cups
2 carrots, medium diced
1 stalk celery, medium diced
2 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press
2 cups leftover ham, cubed
1/2 t. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 ham bone, cleaned as well as you can get it (that's where you got the cubed ham from up above, right?)
2 cups spicy V-8 juice
6 cups chicken broth
1 bunch rainbow chard, stems removed, leaves chopped
2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Tabasco Sauce to taste

Sort through beans, place into a soup pot and cover with water. Soak overnight.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. This soup starts on the stovetop, but then you'll transfer it to fnish cooking in a low oven. I picked up this tip on 15-bean soup from Cook's Illustrated. There are so many different shapes and sizes in a 15-bean mix and they all cook at different times. By cooking them in a the gentle heat of the oven, all of the beans remain intact. It's possible a crock pot set to low might give the same results... but my crock pot is nowhere near big enough for this soup. And I have to report, the oven method works like a charm!

Drain beans and rinse well. Set aside for the moment. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add onion and sautee until tender, about 8 minutes. Add cubed ham and sautee until it starts to brown, around 3 or 4 minutes. Add carrots and celery and sautee an additional 3 minutes, or until they start to soften. Add beans, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf and sautee an additional minute or so, or until everything is fragrant.

Place the ham bone into the mixture and add the V-8 juice and the chicken broth. Stir well and cover the pot. Bring to a boil, then place in the oven - cook 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove from oven and test a bean. They should be slightly tender, but not all the way done. Stir in the chopped chard leaves, re-cover pot and return to oven. Cook another 30 minutes or so, or until the beans are tender.

Remove ham bone and bay leaves from soup. If there was any meat on ham bone, shred it back into the soup. Stir in the lemon juice and several shakes of tabasco, adjust seasonings, and serve.

What's in the Freezer? Sopa de Carnitas with Chipotle and Lime

My deliberate leftovers strategy continues! First, I made pork carnitas for dinner last week. My family absolutely adores carnitas. They've requested them 3 times in under 5 weeks, which is a for-sure sign that a recipe is a keeper. Literally translated, carnitas means "little meats" and are simply a shredded meat filling for tacos. The pork is cooked low and slow in a spicy flavorful mixture until it is falling apart and tender, and then it's shredded. As a bonus, I use the slow cooker, so they're ridiculously easy to make. Although if you do this when you serve dinner, I won't judge you.

There was a slight hitch in my quest for deliberate leftovers, however. The first two times I made carnitas, I didn't end up with any leftovers because Mr. Soup spent the next two days nibbling on a taco here and and a taco there. Sort of like I do with leftover ham... only it's cute when I do it.

Obviously, Mr. Soup eating all the carnitas does not bode well for a soupy forecast. So this time, after dinner was over, I created a small diversion by telling him Die Hard was on (really, it doesn't even matter which one...), and then I threw the leftovers straight into the freezer. Take that!

It doesn't get much better than this, frankly. I have a whole Saturday stretching out before me with no outside-of-the-house plans. The leaves are turning orange and yellow. Best yet, it's absolutely pouring down rain, for the first time in almost 90 days. It's a soup-making kind of day, and I know where there is a secret stash of leftover carnitas.

Spicy Sopa de Carnitas with Chipotle and Lime
Serves 6

2 T. canola or vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 clove of garlic, pressed through a garlic press
2 T. minced jalepeno (remove the ribs and seeds if you want less heat)
2 chipotle peppers, minced into a paste plus 1 T. of the adobo sauce they were canned in
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. dried oregano (Mexican, if you have it)
3 cups (or so) leftover shredded pork carnitas (my favorite recipe follows, but any will work)
6 cups chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1/4 c. minced cilantro
1-2 T. fresh lime juice

Heat oil in large soup pot over medium heat until hot, but not smoking. Add onions and sautee until they are softened and transluscent, around 10 minutes. Add jalepenos and sautee an additional 2 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and oregano and sautee, stirring, until everything is coated. Add the minced chipotle and the adobo and stir again, until coated well.

Add the carnitas, broth, tomatoes, and beans. Stir well and bring to a gentle simmer. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occassionally, until the flavors have come together, about an hour.

Stir in frozen corn, cilantro, and fresh lime juice. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Slow-Cooker Carnitas
adpted from About.com

4 lbs. pork shoulder*, cut into 5-inch pieces

Juice of one orange

Juice of one lime

1 cup salsa

1 t. cumin

1 t. garlic salt

1 t. paprika

1 t. crushed red pepper flakes

1 T. brown sugar

 

*I actually use a Farmland pork product cut specifically for carnitas. I can only get it at my local WalMart. If you find and use this as well, all you need to do is put it straight in the slow cooker. Very, very convenient.

 

Mix all ingredients together except the pork. Place pork in crockpot, add spice and salsa mixture over the top, and toss until the meat is coated. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or until the meat is falling-apart tender.

 

Preheat the broiler.   

Shred the pork. I used to shred meat with two forks, which seriously limited my willingness to make recipes that required this step. Then I discovered an amazing tip - you can use your KitchenAid to shred meat!!!! Seriously. It works great, and is the best shortcut I have ever found. Place meat in the bowl of your KitchenAid in smallish batches. Using the paddle attachment, shred meat on the lowest speed. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Once it is all shredded, pour remaining sauce from the slow cooker over the pork and mix it gently together.

 

Place baking sheet in oven and broil meat, tossing once or twice, until the carnitas are brown and caramelized around the edges. (about 5 minutes, give or take)

A Change of Flavor: Spicy Asian Turkey and Soba Noodle Soup

This time of year flavor profiles get awfully predictable around here. Family gatherings abound, and everyone turns to their tried & true holiday recipes. Nothing wrong with that, really... who doesn't look forward to that one particlar dish mom only serves during Thanksgiving or Christmas? But no matter how awesome the turkey was, you can only eat so many turkey sandwiches before you want to hurt someone. Frankly, my kids are already there.

Last year I turned leftover turkey into a Turkey Soup with Lime and Chile, but this year I wanted something different, something with the strong flavors of sesame oil and ginger. I also knew I wanted to use soba, because despite some people thinking they look like worms (you KNOW who you are!) they are nutty and delicious and absolutely a favorite of mine. Plus, this was the first time I ever cooked with baby bok choy, and I was thrilled to discover I like it almost as much as kale. And baby bok choy is WAY fun to say!

This soup breaks one of my normal routines. Normally, I'm a one-pot kind of soup gal. But here, I cook the soba separately and ladle the soup over the top. I think it's worth the extra step to keep the noodles from absorbing too much liquid and getting mushy. You can freeze this soup with no problem, just freeze it without the noodles.

Spicy Asian Turkey and Soba Noodle Soup

1 T. canola or vegetable oil
8 oz. sliced cremini mushrooms
pinch of salt
2 T. dark sesame oil
1/2 c. chopped green onion (mine were small, I used 8 - reserve a few green tops for garnish)
2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. sriracha (or less if you are not a spicy food lover)
4 c. chicken broth
2 c. water
3 c. chopped cooked turkey
2 heads baby bok choy, ends trimmed, washed, and sliced crosswise into 1/2 inch slices
8 oz. soba noodles

Heat canola oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat until hot, but not smoking. Add sliced mushrooms (I cheat and buy mine already sliced, 'cause I'm lazy like that) and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Toss all together. First the mushrooms will soak up the oil like sponges, then they'll release a ton of liquid. Keep cooking and stirring frequently until the liquid evaporates and mushrooms start to brown on the edges. You want them nice and dense and chewy with crispy edges, NOT slimy.

Remove mushrooms to a separate bowl, and reserve. In the same pot, add the sesame oil, the green onion, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and sriracha. Stir and sautee for around 30 seconds, until everything is fragrant. Add the chicken broth and water and bring to a simmer. Simmer broth for 20 minutes to meld all the flavors.

Meanwhile, bring a separate pot of water to a boil and cook the soba noodles until tender according to package directions. Drain and rinse briefly with cold water.

Add the turkey, bok choy, and the reserved mushrooms to the broth and simmer for 5 minutes.

Using tongs, place noodles into bottom of bowl. Ladle soup over the top of the noodles and garnish with reserved green onion tops. Serve!

Giving Thanks: Creamy Apple, Leek and Brie Soup

Earlier this fall, I had reconsructive surgery to fix the issues caused by my weight loss. I spent most of my seemlingly-endless-recovery (which really was as long as the surgeon told me it would be, even though I totally thought he was nuts and I'd be back up-and-attem in a couple of weeks) in a recliner in the living room, watching the ID channel and cruising Facebook and Pinterest.

Pinterest. Such a simple concept - an online picture version of "favorites," organizable however you wish. To me... the best internet invention. Ever. Little by little, new recipes I've seen on Pinterest have started slipping into our regular dinner rotation. Falling into a same-old-same-old routine in the kitchen happens to the best of us, and for me, Pinterest is the ultimate for rut-busting. No matter how much my family enjoys a particular dish, there's an extremely fine line between last week's "YUM!" and this week's "AGAIN?" These people are a pack of wolves and will turn on me in a heartbeat.

Last year I told you about my tradition of serving a cup of soup before every Thanksgiving meal. In 2011, it was a Warm-Spiced Roasted Cauliflower Soup. This year I wanted something a little more decadent, and frankly, a little bad-for-you. To the Pinterest Bat Cave!! Somewhere in there I had pinned a very pretty picture of a Roasted Apple, Brie & Thyme Soup from the Spice or Die blog. The concept of an Apple and Brie Soup was exactly what I wanted to serve for Thanksgiving. Creamy, rich, and layered with the flavors of caramelized onions, apples, and cheesy goodness. My version really isn't anything like the original, but a Pinterest nod and thank you for the inspiration.

Creamy Apple, Leek, and Brie Soup
Inspired by Spice or Die

2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
2 T. butter
2 c. diced yellow onion (around 1 large onion)
2 c. sliced leeks (about 1 large leek, white and light green parts only, slice in half and fan out under running water to clean thoroughly)
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, cored and chopped
2 t. fresh thyme leaves
3 T. flour
1 c. hard apple cider
4 c. chicken broth
1 lb. brie, rind removed, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (cut when cold, then set aside to come to room temp while you reaheat the soup)
1 c. heavy cream
Parsley-Thyme Oil (optional)

Heat a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-low. Add olive oil and butter and melt, then add the yellow onions. Turn the heat down to low and caramelize the onions. Cook them low and slow, stirring frequently, until they are golden brown and soft. This process can't be hurried, it took me about 30 minutes.

Once the onions are caramelized, stir in the leeks, celery, apples, and thyme. Sautee until the vegetables start to soften, around 8-10 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the flour has lost its raw taste. Add in the hard cider and stir it all together. It will foam up at this point, but it's all good. Add the chicken broth, and simmer the whole thing until the vegetables are good and soft, about 30 minutes more. Remove from heat, and let cool slightly.

I used my immersion blender to blend the soup at this point. Mine is amazing and awesome and purchased for me by my in-laws. If yours is more decorative than powerful, you may wish to blend in batches in your blender. But however you choose, blend the soup well until smooth.

The soup can (and for maximum flavor, should) be made one day ahead at this point and chilled.

Reheat soup gently until hot. Add cubed room-temperature brie cheese and stir and stir and stir until the cheese is mostly melted. I had impatient Thanksgiving guests, so near the end, I used the immersion blender one more time to get everything combined. Add the cream, and bring back temp to hot (not boiling) top with a drizzle of the parsley-thyme oil if you're using it, and serve.

Parsley-Thyme Oil (optional)

1/2 c. chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 T. fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Combine all 3 ingredients in a blender and blend, scraping down sides of blender as needed. Let sit 10-15 minutes, then strain mixture through a fine strainer, pressing on solids. Use the lovely green oil, discard the solids.

Procrastination Soup: Farro and Dried Cranberry Soup with Kale

Apparently I am not good at multi-tasking my life. I can blog as long as I'm not teaching... but I seem to have some sort of blog-fail option that kicks in once I start teaching again... I'm sure it's poor time management on my part.

Well, that and the fact that I currently have 100 seventh-grade language arts students. It took a good two weeks in this position before I had the head-slap moment of realization that every time I had them turn in anything, no matter how small, it generated ONE HUNDRED items for me to correct.

It's a balancing act, I tell you. I need to see their work, and I need to spend time reflecting on each one individually, but if I'm not careful, my bookbag floweth over. Take this weekend, for example. I have two assignments that need to be corrected. Doesn't sound bad, until you multiply 2 x 100. You don't have to be a math teacher to figure out those numbers. Ugh.

I'm queen of the procrastinators. And I rationalize. A lot.

So I made soup instead!

A November kind of soup. Creamy and tangy and full of unusual ingredients! I'm pretty proud of this soup - it's all mine, from the farro to the dried cranberries soaked in raspberry vinegar. What's farro? Here's how I described it on facebook to a friend... "Farro is a grain like barley, but it kicks barley's ass. Chewier, nuttier. It's like brown rice on the best kind of steroids."

And I added sage, because sage is so very November-y.

And kale, because I'm renaming the blog Kale-a-Woman.

Farro and Dried Cranberry Soup with Kale
Serves 4-6

2 T. butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 large carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 T. chopped fresh sage
1 clove garlic, pressed through a garlic press
1 T. flour
1 c. farro, soaked in cold water one hour, then drained and rinsed
1 c. dried cranberries, soaked in raspberry vinegar (or balsamic) for one hour, drained and RESERVE the vinegar
5 c. chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1/2 c. heavy cream
2 c. chopped kale, washed, center ribs removed, and chopped small.
3 T. of the reserved vinegar from the cranberry soak

Rinse 1 c. of farro and then place in a bowl and cover with water to soak for one hour. At the same time, place 1 c. dried cranberries into a bowl and cover with raspberry vinegar (or balsamic vinegar) and set aside to soak for one hour.

Drain and rinse farro. Drain cranberries into a separate bowl. Reserve vinegar.

Melt butter in a heavy soup pot over medium heat until melted, but not browned. Add diced onions and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent, around 8-10 minutes. They should be tender, but not browned. Stir in carrot and celery and sautee until tender, around 3 more minutes. Stir in sage and garlic and sautee until fragrant, around 30 more seconds.

Stir in flour, and stir and stir until flour is cooked and has lost its raw taste, around 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and the farro. Stir well and simmer around 30 minutes, stirrring occasionally, until farro is nearly tender.

Add in drained cranberries, and simmer 15 additional minutes, until cranberries start to plump up. Stir in cream and kale and simmer 10 more minutes or so, until everything is melded and yummy. Add the 3 T. of reserved vinegar and stir well. Taste and add salt and pepper, even more sage or more of the reserved vinegar if needed. Tweak the seasonings untl just right for you.

Confessions of a Soup Hoarder: Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli

Last weekend I started to get "the look" from Mr. Soup. Okay, fine, by the time I finished hoarding freezing the Sopa de Carnitas, I had 29 one-cup containers of soup in my freezer stash. And okay, fine, I officially ran out of my preferred soup containers and went out and bought 12 more. And okay, fine, I was already sketching out/pinning/researching the next soup I wanted to make. I still don't think there's any reason for somone to come upstairs and stand in the living room with fists on hips and demand, "Do you KNOW how much soup there is in the freezer?"

Whatever.

 

(And the answer was, yes, I knew exactly how much soup there was in the freezer.)

I can't help it this time of year. It's soup season: I love to think about it, I love to make it, I love to eat it, and okay, fine, I love to have a freezer full of it. Deal, Mr. Soup.

The good news for everyone involved is that this week I got a sudden call back to school for a 7th Grade Language Arts leave replacement. I now have an excuse to go ahead and indulge myself with another soup, because now that I'm working again, I'm whittling that stash down by one every day. (There are only 26 in the freezer now! Eek!) It is just so ridicuously handy to grab a cup of frozen soup on my way out the door each morning. Ta-da! Lunch!

Today's soup is my version of a Slow Cooker Italian Pasta and Bean Soup - Pasta e Fagioli (pronounced fah-zhool). There are a lot of recipes for this on the internet, most of which seem to be inspired by Olive Garden. I've only eaten at Olive Garden once in my life, and I hated every bite of the shrimp scampi linguine I chose, so I can't attest to their soups. I can, however, attest to the version I made. It's probably not authentic, especially as I snuck kale in there. (And if you're wondering, the answer to that one is "No, there isn't anything kale doesn't make better.") It's a hearty, flavorful bowl full of yum that makes your house smell terrific. Soup hoarders, unite!

Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Pasta and Bean Soup)
Serves 6-8

1 lb. ground beef
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press
2 t. dried Italian Seasoning
1 t. red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
2 stalks celery, diced
3 medium carrots, diced
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can white kidney beans (cannellini), rinsed and drained
3 c. marinara sauce (I'm a big fan of Paul Newman's - but make your own if you are so inclined)
1 2-inch chunk of parmesan rind (optional)
4 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. ditalini pasta (or other small pasta)
1/2 head curly kale, washed, stems removed, and chopped (about 3 cups)

In a large sautee pan, brown ground beef over medium-high heat. Once browned, drain excess fat from pan. Turn heat down to medium and add the onion. Sautee until onion starts to soften, around 5 minutes. Add garlic, Italian Seasoning, red pepper flakes and bay leaves and continue to stir and sautee around 1 minute more, until everything is well combined and you can smell the garlic and spices.

Add the ground beef mixture to your slow cooker. Stir in the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the pasta and kale. Turn slow cooker on to low and cook for 7 hours. Add pasta and kale and cook for an additional 30 minutes, or until pasta is tender. Remove bay leaves and parmesan rind before serving.

**The pasta will absorb quite a bit of liquid, so make sure you use a small shape, or you'll end up with a squishy stew instead of a soup. Add a small amount of additional liquid when re-heating, if necessary, to re-brothify. Yes, that is too a word.

Deliberate Leftovers: Slow-Cooker Ham and Great Northern Bean Soup

It's already established I'm soup-obsessed. Clearly. I didn't make any soup over the summer, but now that the leaves are turning, it seems like it's all I think about. I'm pinning soups like mad, I'm making lists of different soup ideas I'd like to try, and I've been covertly buying used soup cookbooks from Amazon on the cheap. (The covert part of that plan hasn't worked out so well since Mr. Soup picks up the mail.)

But I've hit on a new soup strategy that has me more excited about soup than any other. Deliberate leftovers.

Take for example, today's soup. A Slow-Cooker Ham and Great Northern Bean Soup. I originally saw a picture for this here on Plain Chicken. You might remember Plain Chicken. She's the one that inflicted introduced us to Crack Bread. I won't even 'fess up to how many times I've found an excuse to make that since last Super Bowl. Woe.

But back to the soup. The picture was amazing. I wanted that. Bad. It looked like one of those things where the sum was much much greater than the parts. Just a few ingredients to simple peasant-like deliciousness. All I needed was a ham bone. Pay attention now, this is where the genius comes in! I bought a ham.

You're not impressed, I can tell. "Genius?" you're thinking, "Hardly." But you see, my family LOVES ham. All right, fine, everybody loves ham. But my family ONLY loves ham the first night hot right out of the oven. None of the crazy people that live here will lovingly take it out of the fridge on subsequent days and slice off sliver after sliver and eat it straight off the knife. (Okay, maybe one person that lives here will do that.) So when I make a ham, I get an excellent family dinner and then I have all the rest of the ham to myself. Ham joy. And yes, genius.

Slow-Cooker Ham and Great Northern Bean Soup
Adapted from Plain Chicken
Serves 6-8

1 lb. dried Great Northern Beans
1 meaty leftover ham bone
1 large onion, diced
1 t. crushed red pepper flakes
6 cups water

Sort through the beans to check for any small pebbles. Side note: I have always done this and have never once found a darn thing. Until now. Sure enough, there was an itty bitty rock in the bag.

Cover the beans with 2 inches of water and soak for a minimum of 4 hours. Drain and rinse well. (The original recipe doesn't call for the beans to be soaked at all, and I wasn't in the mood to soak overnight. Still, I worried they wouldn't truly get soft without some sort of soak. I opted to soak them for about 4 hours in the morning before I started the slow cooker up.)

Add beans, onions, and red pepper flakes to slow cooker and stir together. Nestle the ham bone into the mixture and add the water. Cook on low for 8 hours. Remove ham, let cool slightly, and then shred the meat and add it back into the pot.

That's it! 5 simple ingredients that cook all day without tending. It doesn't get much easier than that.

Back-to-School: Split Pea Soup with Shredded Ham

This time of year is getting a little bittersweet for me. First, our girls are getting so old! The oldest is starting her junior year in high school this year, and the youngest is entering 8th grade. Next year we'll have two at the high school! Me, the mother of two high school students. Huh. And the year after that? I'm not ready to mentally go there yet.

Second, I always spend the entire month of August hiking as much as possible in the annual Hike-a-Thon for Washington Trails Association. This year I hiked 70 miles in August alone, with a total of 11,500 feet of elevation gain. When September 1st hits, it's a hiking buzz kill. Not that I can't hike other times of the year, but in August I can literally hike to my heart's content, neglect all household duties, and feel not one whit of guilt! Powerful stuff.

I started back-to-school soup prep with a tasty split pea. I had a generous portion of leftover ham on the bone, and my fashion blogger friend Ellbee from a little blog told me keeps tweeting about eating split pea and frankly, the stars just seemed aligned.

There's just one problem. In general, I don't love split pea soup. I will not eat, nor tolerate, a split pea soup that is a bowl full of thick green mush. I've seen split pea that would hold a spoon vertical. That's just wrong, people. If you are that kind of split pea "soup" eater **coughMollicough**- move along. Nothing to see here folks!

This. Is. NOT. Soup.

I like brothy soups best, and I see no reason why split pea can't fit into that category nicely. So today I set out to make myself a split pea soup that suits my tastes. Hey, if I have to face children who keep getting older without my permission as well as end my wanton hiking orgy, I really have no choice but to indulge myself in soup done my way.

Now, this is soup. See, it needs a spoon!

Split Pea Soup with Shredded Ham
serves 6-8

1 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
1 large onion, medium diced (about 2 generous cups)
1 clove garlic, pressed through a garlic press
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1/2 t. dry mustard
1 bay leaf
2 large carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
16 oz. dried split peas
1 ham bone, with some meat still attached
10 c. water

Heat oil and butter over medium heat until hot, but not smoking. Add onion, and sautee until transculescent, around 6-8 minutes. Add garlic and sautee briefly until cooked, 30 seconds. Stir in all the spices and stir until the onion mixture is coated. Add the carrots and celery and split peas, and stir again until well mixed. Add in the ham bone, and then add the water.

Simmer, uncovered, until the ham is falling off the bone and the peas are just tender to the tooth, but not falling apart and getting mushy. About an hour to an hour and a half. Remove from heat. Remove ham bone from soup and let cool slightly. Shred the meat from the ham into nice chunks and stir back into the soup. Remove bay leaf and check for seasoning. I ended up adding about 1 t. salt at the end, but I didn't salt in the beginning because you never know how salty the ham will make your soup.

If you do like a thicker soup, feel free to add around 8 cups of water and simmer until your peas are mushy and thick. Just don't ask me over for dinner. :)

12 days of lunches, ready for the freezer! Soup stash joy.